House of Ward
by SingerMe
Summary: I know it's been forever since I've written anything more than a grocery list but I've been busy. (Well, that's my excuse anyway) Kitty goes to claim another inheritance. This time with Matt.
1. Chapter 1

**The House of Ward**

I don't own these characters. I just like to spend time with them. No other profit to be had than that.

AN: I have never been to Salem, Massachusetts, although it is on my bucket list, along with other parts of New England. However I have seen some wonderful pictures of the area and since it is that time of year, I thought I would set this little story there. Also, I am a lazy researcher, so please, DO NOT tell me how inaccurate I am about the area or the way people speak in New England or anything else. I KNOW I will most likely get something wrong. I am willing to accept that. Please be willing to do the same. Thank you.

M&KM&KM&KM&K

Kitty and Matt sat quietly in the back of the saloon enjoying beers and a chat when Barney came hurrying in. "Ut oh." Her smile disappeared as Kitty spied him hurrying in their direction.

"What?" Matt turned to see Barney coming towards them. Telegrams were never a good thing in his line of work. "Barney."

"Hello, Marshal." Barney nodded as he held out a yellow square of paper. "Miss Kitty, I got a telegram for ya."

Both Kitty and Matt raised a brow in surprise as he held the paper out to her. "Uh… well, thank you, Barney." She nodded as she took the paper and opened it, quickly reading the contents. "Uh, Barney will you send a reply stating I'll look for it?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded.

"Good." She smiled at him. "You can get the money from Sam and tell him I said to give you a drink on the house."

"Yes, Ma'am!" He grinned and hurried over to the bar.

Matt leaned in close. "Do I need to be jealous?" His expression told her he was only half joking.

Smiling, she shook her head. "No. This is from some attorney in Massachusetts telling me to expect a letter from him in the next couple of days."

"Massachusetts?" He frowned. "Who do you know from there?"

"No one." She shrugged. "Or at least no one that I know of. I don't even think any of my vendors are from there."

"Well, what do you think it could be about?" Matt took the scrap of paper and read the short note before handing it back to her.

"I have no idea what it's about." Kitty shrugged. "But I guess I'll find out when the letter gets here."

A couple of days passed and Kitty had almost forgotten about the letter. But she quickly remembered when she stopped by the post office to drop off some mail for the saloon and Herman, the postmaster, handed her a letter in return.

"I'm glad you stopped by, Miss Kitty." He grinned. "You saved me having to find someone to deliver this. It says urgent on the outside."

"Oh, ok. Well, thank you, Herman." She smiled at him in return. Looking down, she spied the return address on the front of the envelope. '_Ephraim Bowles, Esquire. Salem, Massachusetts.'_

Deciding to hold off reading it until she was in private, she tucked it into her reticule and left the office heading back to the saloon.

"Kitty?"

Turning, she saw Matt coming towards her. "You headed back to the saloon?"

"Sure was." She answered. "Want to come along and see what my letter says?"

"Letter?" He stopped when he remembered her wire from a couple of day's prior. "Oh, yeah, from the attorney. Sure."

Tucking her arm into his, Kitty led the way as they crossed Front Street and walked the length of boardwalk to the Long Branch. "Let's go into my office." She told him. "Sam, we'll be in the office for a little bit if you need me."

"Alright, Miss Kitty." He nodded as his employer and the Marshal passed by the bar and disappeared into the back of the saloon.

As soon they entered her office, Kitty closed the door and stepped over to her desk. Reaching into her reticule she pulled out the letter. "Want a drink?" She asked, nodding towards a bottle of her best on the top of her desk.

"No, that's alright." Matt answered. "I'm more interested in what a eastern dude lawyer wants with you."

"Well, lets find out." She ripped open the envelope and pulled out a sheet of paper, not noticing a small square of cardboard falling onto the floor.

"Dear, Miss Russell," it began. "It is my unfortunate duty to inform you of the death of Mr. Jacob Ward. He succumbed to a sudden illness this day of September 30. He has left you as the sole beneficiary of his estate and I hear-by request that you attend the reading of the will in my office at 10 on the morning of October 15 for full settlement of his estate. Sincerely yours, Ephraim Bowles, Esquire."

Who's Jacob Ward?" Matt asked with more than just curiosity.

"I don't know." Kitty replied. "I can't say that I've ever heard the name. And I know I've never been to Salem Massachusetts."

"Well, maybe this lawyer has the wrong Kitty Russell." Matt suggested.

"I doubt that." Kitty answered as she re-read the letter. "There may be other Kitty Russell's out there, but not here in Dodge."

Shaking her head, Kitty moved to put the letter back in its envelope when she noticed something on the floor. Bending down, she picked it up to see that it was a picture of a young man with light hair and stern expression and suddenly it became clear to her who Jacob Ward was.

"Jake!" She smiled as she handed the photo to Matt. "That's who this is, Matt."

Matt looked at the picture for a moment but he didn't recognize the man. "I don't know him, Kitty." He handed her back the picture. "Who's Jake?"

"He was a miner that came thru here about 5 years back. You were out of town for a trial while he was here. He was down on his luck and sold me his watch in exchange for enough money for a grubstake. I encouraged him to take that money and go home but at the time I didn't think he would. I guess I was wrong." Suddenly, Kitty's expression saddened as she realized that this meant the smiling young miner had died.

Matt, seeing the change in her countenance, moved over and pulled her into his arms. "I'm sorry, Kitty. Not sure how well you knew this man but I know it hurts to hear of his death anyway."

Kitty hugged him back for a moment before pulling free and glancing down at the letter. "I didn't really know him at all, Matt. He was here in town for only a few days."

"But he still left you something in his will?" Matt sounded skeptical.

"Yes, he did." Kitty acknowledged. "But not because there was anything between us. Okay? Honestly, I only knew him for a few days and knew even less about him."

Matt nodded. "I'm sorry, Kitty. I did sound kind of jealous, didn't I? I know better."

"Hm, hum." She grinned. "And I love you for it but seriously there's no need. I knew him no better than I do most of the strangers that come in here."

"Yeah, but none of them left you his estate." Matt pointed out. "So, he might not of meant anything to you, but you obviously meant something to him."

"Well," Kitty sighed. "I don't know how but I guess I'll find out when I meet the attorney on the 15th."

"What?" Matt stepped back. "You aren't planning on going there?"

"Of course I am." Kitty answered with a scowl. "I don't know what Jake had or why he left it to me but the fact is he did and I'm going to claim it."

"Kitty, didn't the last time you claimed something, left to you in a will, teach you anything? You know, you came close to being killed for that gold mine last year."

"I know." She nodded. "But this time will be different. This time I will be in a modern place with an attorney not in the middle of nowhere with the dregs of society. I'll be just fine."

"No." Matt shook his head adamantly. "I don't want you to go. Just because you'll be going east doesn't mean it'll be any safer. Besides, that far away, I won't be able to get to you as fast as I did last year."

"Fast?" She raised a brow. "Matt, I was there several days before you got there. And I wouldn't have been there alone at all if you'd a come with me when I asked."

"Kitty, I thought we'd had this out a long time ago. I couldn't go with you then and you know it." Matt was getting exasperated.

"Yeah, I know." Kitty sighed. "And you're right, we did have that out a long time ago. But this is different and I don't need you to go with me. I can go alone and I 'AM' going."

Matt wanted to argue with her but he recognized the set of her jaw as she spoke and he knew there'd be no talking her out of it. "Fine." He nodded as he headed to the door. "Fine. But you're not going alone."

"What do you mean?" Kitty was startled at his suddenly giving in.

"I mean just that." Matt told her. "You're not going alone. I have some time off coming. You make arrangements for our travel and I'll wire the main office to let them know I'll be gone for a while."

Stunned, Kitty swallowed. She'd been prepared to argue with him about her going. She didn't expect the bonus of his going with her. "Uh, are you serious? Matt, you hate going places with me."

"No, I don't." Matt moved back to her and pulled her into his arms. "I love going places with you. I just hate the trouble we usually get into when we do go places." Leaning down he kissed her on the tip of her nose. "But I hate the thought of you getting into that trouble without me. So I'm going. Okay?"

"Yes, sir." She grinned.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**House of Ward Chapter 2**

Three days later, Matt sat uncomfortably next to a sleeping Kitty on a too small train seat as it headed ever east and north. Looking down on the tuckered red head he shook his head as he remembered the look on her face when he told her he was going with her. She was more surprised than anyone but himself that he'd volunteered for such a trip.

Although he'd meant what he'd said, he did like going places with her, he also hated taking trips too far from his jurisdiction. But this was something he had to do. He kept remembering the anxiety and fear he'd felt the first time she'd gone to claim an inheritance and he'd not been with her. Although, he'd sent Thad to check on her and protect her, he'd still felt helpless and he didn't like that feeling at all when it came to her.

He'd felt the same thing at other times when something happened to her beyond his control. But this time was in his control and job or no job; he was going to be with her. Of course, he was also going to do everything in his power to hurry this whole thing along and get them back to Dodge as quickly as he could. But he didn't need to mention that just yet.

"You're thinking awfully hard there, Marshal." Kitty stretched and sat up in her seat, looking up at Matt. "You having second thoughts about coming with me?"

Matt smiled as he shook his head and then leaned in, kissing her. "Not at all. As a matter of fact, I was just thinking how happy I am that I came with you."

"Really?" Kitty sounded doubtful. "I mean, I know you don't really like this sort of thing and…"

"What I don't really like is worrying about you and knowing there's nothing I could do if you were hurt or…"

"You mean like I do when you're out of town?" She arched a brow at him.

Matt dropped his head with a sigh. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Kitty. I guess I don't often think about how you feel when I ride out. I'm always so concentrated on my job and all."

"I know and I understand, really I do. I'm just glad _you_ understand how _I_ feel." Kitty smiled sincerely at him. "Now, lets forget about all of it and think about our trip. Gee, you know, I wonder what it was that Jake left to me."

"You never get did get a reply to wire to that lawyer, did you?" Matt asked. After arranging for their travel, Kitty had sent a wire to the attorney to advise him she was coming and to see if she could get any additional information.

"Well, I did." She shrugged but all it said was that accommodations had been arranged for us. It didn't say where or anything else. I thought about sending him another wire but I figured why waste the time or money. I'll find out when I get there."

"Guess so, Kitty." Matt agreed. "While you slept I talked to the conductor. He said we'll be getting into Boston sometime this evening. Then all we have to do is catch the spur line up to Salem. He said we should be there by tomorrow night."

"Good." She smiled. "I'll be glad to get to a place where I can take a bath and relax. Train travel is better than a stage coach but it's still not easy."

"Well, I agree with you there." He chuckled. "But at least on this train I can get up and stretch my legs from time to time. It ain't so easy on a coach unless I want to run alongside it."

Kitty laughed. "With your long legs, you'd probably be ahead of the team."

Later that evening, they finally pulled into the station in Boston. "Boston!" The conductor called. "All off for Boston." He cried as he passed through the cars.

"Well, that's us." Matt grinned as he stood up and reached out a hand for Kitty. "From what I understand, we're supposed to get off here and go across the station to the spur line that'll take us to Salem. One more day of travel and we'll be there."

"Well, it can't be too soon for me." Kitty shook her head as she followed Matt off the train.

Stepping down from the platform, Matt turned and extended a hand to Kitty, helping her down. "Stay here a moment." He told her. "And I'll make sure our bags are transferred."

"Alright," Kitty nodded at him with a smile as he walked down towards the baggage car.

Kitty stepped away from the platform just when a raggedly dressed young man came running past, knocking into Kitty and pushing her up against the side of the train.

"Hey!" Kitty yelled catching Matt's attention.

"Hey!" Matt turned and ran back towards them.

Seeing Matt, the bearded young man with the mop of white blonde hair grabbed Kitty's reticule and then ran off in the opposite direction.

"Kitty? You okay?" Matt grabbed her arm, looking her up and down when he got to her.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Kitty answered as she brushed herself off. "He didn't hurt me. He just got my reticule."

"Yeah, that's more than enough to get him locked up." Matt nodded. "I'll see if I can find a lawman somewhere."

"Don't bother, Matt." Kitty shook her head. "He didn't get anything but a kerchief and a dollars worth of change. I learned a long time ago to keep my reticule empty when I'm traveling."

"You sure?" Matt asked. "I mean, I'm not sure where but I will find someone to report this to."

"I'm sure." Kitty shook her head as she linked her arm with his. "He got nothing, Matt. Come on, I don't want to miss that other train."

As Matt and Kitty hurried over to the other train, the young man ran south of the train station, down a dark alley and to a small shack at the end of the block. Taking a quick look around him, he threw open the door and practically jumped inside, slammed the door behind him and leaned heavily on it's surface, trying to catch his breath.

An older man, gray and grizzled stumped his way into the main room, leaning heavily on a cane. "You get her?" He asked with an urgent tone.

"No." The young man handed the empty reticule to the older man. He'd already pocketed the change, knowing the older man wouldn't share. "She had a man with her, a big man."

"You didn't kill her?" The old man scowled thoroughly at the young accomplice. "That was what you were sent for."

"I know." The boy shook his head. "But there just wasn't time. I just barely touched her before that man come running. I wasn't about to tangle with him. He was an awful big man."

"Yeah?" The older man glared at him. "Well, so is our boss and you'd better hope he's willing to overlook your failure or we'll both be dead."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**House of Ward Chapter 3**

**AN: Just a quick thank you to the reviewers I couldn't PM. Thank you so much. I do appreciate you taking the time to read and respond. I pray I don't disappoint.**

The train trip from Boston to Salem was uneventful and swifter than they had expected. Arriving in Salem late that evening, they didn't expect anyone to be there to meet them. But as they stepped off the train, a short, well-dressed middle-aged man approached them with a slight bow. "Miss Russell?"

Kitty looked at the man who, for the most part looked like and undertaker with his black frock coat and, black, well-cut slacks and brushed bowler hat. "Um, I'm Kitty Russell." She nodded at him.

"Ah good." He smiled thinly. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ephraim Bowles. I am the attorney that wired you about Mr. Ward's estate."

"How do you do?" She nodded. "We, uh… well, we didn't expect anyone to be here this late in the evening."

"I enquired with the railroad as to when your train was due in." He informed her. "I felt it my duty to greet you and escort you to where you'll be staying. As you can tell, there are few people about this time of evening."

"Yes, of course." She nodded uncertainly as she glanced at Matt and remembered she hadn't introduced him. "Oh, uh, this is Matt Dillon. He's a good friend of mine. I hope there'll be accommodations for the both of us available."

Bowles gave her a rather odd look and nodded. "I don't believe that will be a problem. This way please. I will have someone collect your baggage and deliver it shortly."

Giving Matt a slight shake of her head followed by a shrug, Kitty followed the barrister with Matt following.

When they reached the street outside of the train station, Kitty and Matt exchanged glances as they spied the carriage that the attorney had waiting for them. Kitty had seen such contraptions back in New Orleans but usually they carried the relatives of some recently deceased person.

Matt had no idea what sort of carriage the eccentric looking man was leading them to but it definitely wasn't the sort you'd find in Dodge. Casting a curious look at Kitty, she placed a hand on his arm.

"At least we don't have to walk." She whispered.

"Here we are." Bowles stood to the side and extended a hand to help Kitty up into the carriage.

With a polite nod, Kitty accepted his arm and climbed up into the buggy followed by Matt. Neither of the two said anything as the attorney climbed into the front of the carriage and snapped the reins to drive them away. As they wended their way through one street after another, Matt and Kitty tried to get a sense of the town of Salem but it was too dark to see more than the vague shapes of the houses they passes.

When Bowles finally pulled to a stop, Kitty and Matt stared at the dark, foreboding looking building in front of them. Three storied and massive, it lacked any sort of warmth or friendliness that a lot of houses usually gave. Although a couple of the downstairs windows were aglow with candlelight, it almost felt as though the house was fighting the light they gave rather than accepting it.

"Um, this is the hotel?" Kitty hoped not.

"Hotel?" Bowles gave her an odd yet sly smirk. "No, my dear. This is the House of Ward. It belonged to your benefactor, Jacob Ward and now to you. Come, I'll show you inside."

Kitty swallowed hard and moved just a touch closer to Matt. Something about this house didn't feel right, but other than it's creepy appearance, she couldn't put her finger on what it was that was so off-putting. And of course the looks of the place could certainly be changed if this was truly to be hers.

Matt felt Kitty shiver ever so slightly and quickly wrapped an arm around her. "You okay?"

Kitty nodded. "I'm fine. Just tired. Come on, let's go in."

Reluctantly, Matt released her and climbed down from the carriage and then helped her out. But as soon as she was on the ground, he quickly took her arm, intent on protecting her from whatever it was that was bothering her, if he could.

"I shant give you a tour of the house this late in the evening." Bowles informed them as he unlocked the front door and ushered them in, handing Kitty the key. "I'm certain you are probably very tired and will want your rest. Tomorrow will be soon enough for such explorations. So I shall bid you both a good night. Your rooms are at the top of the stairs. Miss Russell, you have the one on the left, Mr. Dillon, the one on the right. Alright?"

"Uh, okay." Kitty was a little nonplussed. The man acted as though he was trying to escape their presence. Or was it the house that bothered him? But before she could even think to inquire as to his haste in leaving them, he had turned and scurried out the door, stepping hastily into the carriage.

"Here's your hat and what's your hurry." Matt quipped. "Only it was him hustling himself out of here instead of us."

Kitty chuckled. "He sure didn't seem to want to stay and chat, did he?"

"Nope." Matt shook his head as he looked around the front foyer that Bowles had left them in. "Well, should we venture upstairs and check our rooms?"

"Rooms?" Kitty arched a brow at him.

"Yeah," Matt nodded with a grin. "We have to see which one it is we want to stay in."

Kitty chuckled. "You know, we don't have any bed clothes to put on. Our luggage hasn't been delivered yet,"

Matt leaned down and kissed her with a grin. "Who needs clothes? I'll just pick the warmer of the two rooms."

Kitty woke the next morning and lazily stretched out on the bed before remembering where she was. Moving her arm to the bed beside her, she found it empty and immediately sat up, looking around. "Matt?"

"Coming." She heard him call from the stairs.

Entering the room, he held a tray in his hands with a pot of coffee and two cups. "I was going to fix us something for breakfast but there wasn't anything to do that with. I was lucky to find the makings for coffee." He sat the tray down and picked up the pot, pouring her a cup. "Not sure how good this is."

"Better than nothing." She smiled as she accepted the cup and took a sip of the black brew. But instantly she grimaced and sat the cup down. "Uh, maybe not though. It tastes kind of old."

Matt took a sip of his own and quickly put the cup back on the tray. "You know, I thought Chester and Festus made the worst coffee but I think I got em beat with this. You're right; it does taste old. Of course, that doesn't surprise me. Everything downstairs is coated in layers of dust as though no one's lived here for some time. This coffee was the only thing I could find down in the kitchen."

"Well, I don't know what's going on around here," Kitty said as she pushed the covers off of her and got up. "But I guess we'll find out when we see Mr. Bowles."

"Yeah." Matt nodded. "Look, I saw a tub in the washroom so I went ahead and got you some water heated so you can take a bath. Why don't you do that while I go see if I can find a place to get us something to eat?"

"Sounds good." Kitty smiled. But as Matt left and she moved into the washroom, Kitty had a feeling that would be the only thing to sound good around there.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**House of Ward Chapter 4**

As Kitty headed to the washroom, Matt grabbed his hat and coat and left the house. As he exited the front door, he paused at the end of the long drive by the gate and looked back at the old house they'd spent the night in.

The morning light took away some of the ominous feeling of the previous night but the place still looked forlorn and forgotten with overgrown shrubbery around the house as well as the end of the drive and withered grass desperately in need of a manicure. The shutters on the sides of the windows were either missing or hanging by one hinge. And the house its self hadn't seen a good coat of paint in years. The gate, he was leaning against, was rusty and long overdue for oil on its hinge's. The brick wall, which acted as a barrier between the road and the property seemed solid, but Matt had no doubt it wouldn't take much to bring it down.

Whoever this Jacob Ward was, he'd apparently not spent much time or effort on the place. Shaking his head, he turned back to the road and headed off in what he thought was the direction of town. He didn't see a curtain on the bottom floor pull slightly to the left for a moment before dropping back into place.

A block west and a couple of blocks north found him on a commercial street and soon he found a bright looking café with an open sign in the window and he quickly made his way inside. "Good morning." He greeted the man who came out from behind the counter.

"Good morning, Sir." The man smiled in greeting. "What I can get for you this morning?"

"Well, I was wondering if there was something you prepare for me to take with me. My uh, friend and I just got into town last night and I'm afraid the place we're staying at doesn't have any food in it."

"That's strange." The man declared. "The Essex Inn usually has a fine breakfast fare for its guests."

"Uh, we're not staying at a hotel." Matt answered. He had no intentions of telling this man too much but he was interested in any info he might glean from the locals around here about Jacob Ward and his house. "Actually, we're staying the home of Jacob Ward."

"Ward?" The man arched a brow and gave Matt a curious look. "I hear Jacob Ward passed away recently."

"He did." Matt nodded. "My friend was named as his heir." Matt watched the man as he suddenly seemed to grow uneasy. Grabbing a small bag from under his counter, he hastily shoveled several pastries into a bag and filled a small decanter with coffee.

"Well, I wish you both well." The man gave Matt a nervous smile and pushed the bag and decanter towards him. "Please come again." Before Matt could reply or inquire as to how much he owed, the man quickly disappeared behind a curtain into the back of the café.

Matt doubted it would do much to try and call him back. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out what he assumed was enough money to pay for the food and left it lying on the counter before gathering the bag and decanter and heading back to the house.

When Kitty came out of the washroom, she was greeted by the sight of Matt sitting on the bed with a tray full of pastries and two different cups of coffee. "That looks good." She smiled as she crossed the room and sat on the bed. "Apparently you found a place."

"Yep." Matt nodded. "There's a small café a couple of blocks over from here. The owner was nice but he sort of seemed in a hurry to get me out of his place when he found out where I was staying."

"Why?" Kitty picked up the coffee and smiled after taking a sip. "Now this is good coffee."

Matt nodded. "Yes it is. And as for why the café owner acted why he did, I don't know. He was fine until I mentioned Jacob Ward and this house."

"Well, maybe it had more to do with Jacob and less to do with this house." Kitty picked up on the pastries. "You know, I didn't really know him that well. He might not have been as nice here as he was in Dodge."

Matt picked up his own pastries and took a bite while he considered that. "Could be." He agreed around a mouthful of food. "It doesn't matter though, I guess. Once you sign the papers, this'll be yours."

"Which reminds me." Kitty took another sip of her coffee. "I don't remember Mr. Bowles saying what time we were supposed to meet with him today. Do you?"

Matt finished his pastry and reached another one. "No, as a matter of fact, I don't. I guess it depends on what time they consider morning to be around here. Back in Dodge, this would be close to noon."

Kitty laughed as she got to her feet. "To some people." She answered. "To me this would still be in the middle of the night."

Matt chuckled just as they heard a knock coming from downstairs. "That could be the man now. I'll go answer the door. You might want to put on something." He gestured towards the camisole she was wearing.

"I'll have to put on my clothes from yesterday." She shrugged. "They haven't delivered our bags from the train yet, have they?"

"No." Matt answered as he headed for the door. "But we'll get them."

As Kitty began to dress, Matt hurried down the stairs and opened the front door. He found no one there but their bags were sitting on the front stoop. Matt tried to catch a glimpse of who ever it was that left their bags but even his great height was no match for the untrimmed bushes and brick wall at the end of the drive. Shaking his head, he picked up their bags and carried them inside.

"Our bags are here." He called upstairs. "Don't know who brought them, but at least we have them."

Hearing no reply, Matt assumed Kitty hadn't heard him so he hefted the bags and started up the stairs just when he heard Kitty yell.

TBC

AN: I tried to Google a name for a hotel in Salem in the appropriate time frame and it looked like I would have to wade thru a ton of ads in order to find the information I needed. So….. Since I'm too lazy for that and this is fiction and I'm going to use the name only once or twice, I made up a name based on a famous street there in Salem. If anyone wants to look up an actual hotel from that time period, by all means do so. Just don't tell me about it.


	5. Chapter 5

**House of Ward Chapter 5**

When he reached the top of the stairs, Matt saw Kitty standing in the doorway, a confused and somewhat frightened look on her face. "Kitty? What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm not sure I know." She answered. "Right after you went downstairs, I could've swore I heard laughing coming from down the hallway and what looked like a shadow by the doorway of that first room over there. But I went down there and I couldn't see anyone. But it sounded like a real person."

"Well, Kitty, this is an old house. Making it's just making settling noises or something." Matt was uncomfortable with any other explanation.

Kitty shook her head though. "It didn't sound like a house settling, Matt. Besides, when I came back down here, to this room, I could've sworn that something brushed up against me. That's why I yelled. For a second I thought it was you, but you were still downstairs."

Matt could tell she was serious. "No, it wasn't me." Matt sat the bags down in the room with an upset expression. "Look, why don't you go ahead and get dressed and I'll go check out the rest of this house. You know, just because we thought we were alone here, doesn't mean we were."

"I was trying not to think that." Kitty told him as she reached for her bag.

"Just lock yourself in the room." Matt suggested as he turned and headed down the hall. The second floor of the house consisted of three bedrooms on each side of a central staircase, which led both downstairs and up to a third, smaller floor. Matt hadn't heard anything while downstairs but Kitty was not one to make things up or to hear things that weren't there. So if there was someone in the house with them, he was going to find them.

The first room, on the other side of the staircase, the one that Bowles had intended for him, was open and empty save the bed and a large chest of drawers on the far wall of the room. Though there were footprints on the dusty floorboards, that was no indication of anything. Bowles had, he knew, sent someone to make up this room, as well as Kitty's so those footprints could be theirs. Moving on, Matt went to the next room and cautiously opened the door, thinking he'd wished he'd grabbed his gun.

But this room was empty as well and unlike the other room, there were no footprints. But there was a small door just to the right of the unmade bed and Matt un-hesitantly walked in to check on it. It turned out to be a small, empty wardrobe. Shaking his head, Matt retraced his steps to the hallway and to the next room and the next.

Having finished the second floor, he quickly climbed the stairs to the third floor, which had only two large rooms on either side of the house and absolutely no human inhabitants. Moving back to the stairs, he descended down to the first floor and searched it. Consisting of a front parlor, a dining room, a kitchen area, a large corner office and a small closet like room between the parlor and the dining room, the first floor was empty as well.

As he'd searched the house, Matt noticed it was as dusty from top to bottom. It was clear that no one had lived in this house for sometime. Retracing his steps, Matt headed back up the stairs. "Kitty?" He knocked on the door.

"Well?" Matt could see that Kitty had dressed and even fixed her hair and applied her makeup when she opened the door. But Matt could also see the slight traces of worry in her expression. "Did you find anyone?"

"No." Matt shook his head. "I searched every floor and I found nothing but rooms full of dust covered furniture. No sign of anyone being in any of them for some time."

"I don't understand." Kitty shook her head. "Matt, I was sure I heard someone laughing and move down there. And I just can't believe I was imagining that touch."

"Kitty, I don't doubt you did hear and see and feel something." Matt grabbed her hand and guided her to a chair. "But this is an old house. What you thought was laughter could've been a creaking of old wood or the scrape of a tree branch across a window or something. Same thing with the shadow. It could've come from a tree branch throwing shadows across that big window up there." He pointed at the large window above the central foyer that lit up the stairway. "That touch could've been a cobweb. You know this house has a lot of those."

"I guess." Kitty sighed, although she had serious doubts about it. "It sure didn't feel as normal as you make it out to be though."

"Well," Matt shrugged. "I don't know that anything around here is normal."

"What do you mean?" Kitty saw something was bothering him. "What'd you find when you searched this place?"

"Nothing." Matt answered. "But that's just the problem. "Kitty, it doesn't appear that anyone's been in this house for a long time. Most of the furniture is covered and there's a thick layer of dust on the floors. The only signs I found of human habitation is our footprints when we came in here. Where's this Jacob's footprints?"

"Well, that doesn't necessarily mean anything." Kitty reasoned. "I mean this is a big house for one person. Maybe Jacob kept a small apartment somewhere, something easier to keep up with."

"Could be." Matt nodded. "But then why keep this house? Why not sell it? It just sitting here empty doesn't accomplish much. And if he had to sell his watch to you to get a grub stake then he could surely use the money."

"Well, that I don't know." Kitty shook her head as she got to her feet. "But hopefully we'll get some answers when we meet with Mr. Bowles."

As Kitty crossed over to the small dresser another knock could be heard at the door downstairs. "Maybe that's him this time."

"I'll see." Matt answered as he left the room and descended again to the bottom floor. This time it was indeed the attorney. Matt swung the door open with a smile. "Good morning, Mr. Bowles. Come in."

"Uh, no. No, thank you." Bowles answered as he stood rather uneasily on the front stoop. "I have a carriage waiting to take us to my office."

"Well, Kitty's just finishing up getting dressed and…"

"I'm ready, Matt." Kitty spoke up from behind him as she glided down the stairs. "Let's go."

Matt nodded and grabbed his hat from the newel post where he'd placed it when he came in. "Let's go."

As the two exited the house, the attorney wasted no time in hurrying back to his carriage, the same one from the previous night. Kitty arched a brow at Matt. "He always seems to be in a hurry."

"Uh huh." Matt nodded. "But I guess that's better than him staying around and boring us to death."

Kitty chuckled as she closed and locked the door behind her. Taking Matt's arm, she stepped off the stoop and walked with him to the carriage. As she climbed in, she took a look at the front of the house, in particular the top window. Touching Matt's hand, she nodded towards it. "Tree casting shadows?" She whispered.

Matt looked to see that there wasn't a tree close enough to the house to cast shadows or scrape against a windowpane. Looking down at Kitty he merely shrugged. But he had a bed feeling suddenly. A very bad feeling.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**House of Ward Chapter 6**

Unlike the previous evening, Ephraim Bowles had arranged for a coach driver this morning and Kitty thought it would give her a chance to ask some questions of the odd little man. But she was wrong. Every inquiry was met with a blank stare or if pressed a single word answer. Exchanging glances with Matt, she could see he was as exasperated with the silent man as she was.

Pursing her lips, she decided to let it go, sit back and enjoy the view of the town of Salem as they rode through. One way or another, she and/or Matt would get the answers they sought once they got into Bowles office.

For his part, Matt sat as quietly as Ephraim Bowles. But his thoughts were anything but. There was something going on here but he couldn't figure out what. He'd been a lawman for too long not to know when someone was avoiding a question and hiding something. Matt didn't know what that was, but was determined to find out very soon.

When they reached the center of town, the driver drove up to a small house standing by itself on the end of a block. Though the lawn and shrubbery around it was taken care of and the house looked well cared for, it was plain to see that Ephraim Bowles didn't spend any more money on his place than he had to.

When the carriage stopped, Matt quickly swung out onto the ground and extended a hand to help Kitty out, ignoring the attorney completely. Once Kitty was down, she took his proffered arm and they waited quietly while the attorney dismounted the carriage and started towards the door of his office.

"This way, please." He called over his shoulder as Matt and Kitty followed him inside.

"Nice place." Kitty offered as she took in plain room they found themselves in. Furnished with a small desk on one wall. A couch and low table facing the fireplace and a small bookcase next to the fireplace, it looked as dismal as the Ward house.

Hearing the false compliment, Ephraim turned with something resembling a small on his face. "Thank you." He replied. "I keep my office in my home. It saves money and time that way. Well, please. Have a seat and I'll get your paperwork."

With a dubious look at the couch, Kitty finally decided to take a chance and sat on the left side of it with Matt sitting on her right. A moment later, Bowles returned with a folder and laid it on the table before them.

"I, uh, am not sure what you know about Mr. Ward or his business dealings but they were quite different so I'm certain you'll appreciate that it was no easy chore to gather all of these documents for you."

He was looking for praise and Kitty wasn't in the mood to give it to him. "I don't know anything about it." She shrugged. "The last time I saw Jacob Ward, he was in Dodge trying to sell me his watch so he could get a grubstake to go mining. I gave him the money but I did my best to convince him to go home. After he left Dodge, I never saw him again. So I'm certain you can appreciate how much of a surprise this all is to me."

"Quite." Ephraim replied. "Well, at any rate, you are here to collect your inheritance and here it is. Now, these two top papers have a space for your signature. If you will just sign here, I can…"

"No." Kitty shook her head. "At least not until I get some answers."

"Answers?" Ephraim Bowles' voice went up a little and he visibly paled.

"Yeah." Matt stood up. "Answers. Look, you've been acting nervous since we got here. You've been at that house twice now but won't come in. Is there something wrong with it? Is it about to fall down or something? Did this Ward fella leave a bunch of debts that Kitty's going to be responsible for or something? Did…"

"There is nothing wrong with the house." Ephraim sighed in defeat of Matt's onslaught. "It needs a good cleaning and as well as some basic maintenance but it's sound. And no, Mr. Ward left no debts to be paid."

"But there's still something wrong, isn't there?" Kitty stood up next to Matt. "Please, Mr. Bowles. Tell me what this is all about?"

Bowles sighed again and turned away from Matt and Kitty. "The house is called the House of Ward. It's been in Jacob Ward's family since it was built close to a hundred years ago. It's been the scene of many tragedies and very little happiness. There is a saying around here that whoever owns that house will die in it. Jacob did. So did his parents before him and his grandparents before them."

Reaching into the bookcase, he pulled out a slim tome and turned, handing it to Kitty. "This was written by a local historian. It details the many things that have happened in that place."

"That still doesn't explain a lot." Matt pointed out. "Any old house is bound to have things happen in it, good and bad. That doesn't tell us anything. Why did Ward leave everything to Kitty. He didn't know her very well. And while we're at it, how'd he die? I understand he wasn't that old. There's more to all this than you're saying."

"I know." Bowles nodded. "But to be honest, there isn't a lot I can tell you. The House of Ward has had a reputation of being bad luck for anyone who owns it. So far, that's proven true and I for one feel very uncomfortable in it. To be painfully honest, the only reason I agreed to handle Jacob's will was because I needed the work. I don't know why Jacob left his estate to Miss Russell or anything else. The only thing he said to me was that he wanted all he had to go to Kitty Russell in Dodge City, Kansas and no one else. All details on his holdings are in that file and he insisted that she get it. Now will you please sign the papers and get out of here?"

Kitty looked down at the thick file and then up at Matt. It was clear that they would learn nothing more from Bowles, whether he knew anything or not. She could either accept Jacob's bequest or leave but she'd learn nothing more here. "Where do I sign, Mr. Bowles?" She finally asked.

Bowles looked immensely relieved. "Right here, Miss Russell." He quickly handed her a couple of pieces of paper and a pen, which he'd just dipped in ink.

Kitty gave a slight tick of her head and bent, quickly signing the papers and handing them to Bowles. "Alright, now what?"

"You take these." Bowles picked up the folder and book and handed it to her. "I will go today and register the deed to the house and any other properties he owned under your name. After that, anything else will be for you to handle."

"Alright. Thank you, Mr. Bowles for your help." Kitty tucked the folder into her side and turned to Matt. "Come on, Matt. Let's take a walk, huh?"

As the two walked out of his home, Bowles ran a shaky hand across his forehead. He'd been honest in what he'd told them. But he hadn't told them everything. However, he knew that 'everything' was for them to find out on their own.

As they walked back out to the street, Matt looked down at Kitty. "You've got something going, Kitty. What is it?"

"I don't know, yet, Matt." She answered truthfully. "But I think something's wrong here. I think this folder is the best place to start finding out what it is."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

House of Ward Chapter 7

**AN: I had every intention of replying to each review personally and I at least this time, I failed miserably. So please accept my apologies and sincere thank you for the reviews and kind words. I hope I earn them.**

"Well, the carriage is gone." Matt sighed when they left the house. "So guess we'll have to walk back to the house."

"Probably." Kitty agreed. "But not yet. We passed a restaurant down the street here. Why don't we go down there and get some coffee and then take a look at this paperwork."

"Sounds good, Kitty." Matt held out an arm and started them off towards the restaurant.

Once inside and seated, Matt raised a hand to summon the waitress. "Want something to eat?"

"No." Kitty shook her head. "Just coffee." She opened the folder and began to pull out the papers.

When the waitress arrived, Matt ordered them each a cup of coffee and a large plate of biscuits and gravy for himself. It was still early and he was still hungry. Besides, Kitty usually snuck food off of his plate so he doubted any of it would go untouched.

Kitty opened up the folder and began going through the papers inside. For several moments she sat quietly reviewing each page in its turn. When she was half way thru the stack, she looked up at Matt. "Well, so far, it looks like Jacob left me not only the house, but his business as well, Ward Freighting. Says here it's an import/export business although it doesn't exactly say what it is they import or export or how successful they are or not. But I assume it probably was to be in the family for 3 generations. Something kinda weird though"

Matt frowned. "Oh?"

"Yeah, Jacob is listed as the owner and operator of this business since his father died. But I know he wasn't here so I don't know how he could've been running it."

"Well, maybe he kept in touch by wire or something." Matt shrugged.

"Could be, I guess." Kitty agreed. "Anyway, according to this paperwork, he's been owner since he inherited it from his father." Kitty looked back down at the papers before her. "Which makes me wonder why he was out gold mining and hawking his watch for a grub stake when his father had money."

"Maybe he didn't get along with his father." Matt reasoned. "I've seen a lot of young men come west for that very reason. Almost like they were out to prove themselves. Of course, it could also be that the company's not that successful."

"Well, that could be either one, I guess." Kitty nodded. "Maybe when I finish reading all this, I'll find out."

The waitress appeared at that moment with Matt's plate and a slice of ham on the side. "Cook said the biscuits and gravy wouldn't be any good without the ham." The waitress smiled coquettishly at Matt.

"Tell him thank you, for us. Will ya?" Kitty gave the woman a look that caused her to quickly nod and then retrace her steps back to the kitchen.

Matt chuckled as he cut a piece of the ham and shoveled it into his mouth. "Down girl." He grinned. "We might want to come back here and eat sometime."

"Only if she's off." Kitty answered sneaking a hand across and taking a bite of the ham. "Not bad."

Matt nodded towards the papers. "What else do those papers say?"

Kitty grabbed a spoon and took a bite of the biscuit and gravy. "I'll have to read everything more thoroughly but it looks like Jacob's grandfather started out in shipping and then expanded from there. When he died, he handed it down to his son Benjamin and then after him it went to Jacob. I guess the Ward family didn't believe in having a lot of kids." She helped herself to another bite of ham before sipping her coffee.

"Guess not." Matt answered around a mouthful of biscuit. "Does any of that paperwork explain why everyone seems to be afraid of that house?"

"No." She shook her head. "But this book that Bowles handed me might. Remember, he said it would tell us everything."

"That's right." Matt pushed the now empty plate away and finished the last of his coffee. "I forgot about that. Tell ya what, when we get back to the house, we'll go thru it. We can stop at a general store somewhere and pick up some coffee and supplies on the way back."

"That's a good idea, Matt." She smiled. "But before we do, I'd like to find the office and see just exactly what it is that this company does and just how successful it is. For all I know, it could be nothing now and these papers could be wrong."

"Alright." Matt nodded. "Let's go."

After leaving the restaurant they looked around them. With no knowledge of the town, they weren't sure which direction to go. As they stood on the corner of the street, they saw a woman walking in their direction.

"Excuse me." Matt tipped his hat to her. "Uh, could you tell us how to find the Ward Freighting offices?"

"We're new here." Kitty put in. "We don't know this town."

"That's obvious." The middle-aged woman with the widow's peak in her dark but graying hair answered. "If you did, you wouldn't be looking for that cursed place." With a scowl on her pinched face, she pushed past them and went on her way.

Kitty looked up at Matt with a frown. "I sure hope not everyone around here is that rude."

"Me too." Matt nodded as he saw a man coming towards him.

This man looked like a businessman with his starched collar and bowler hat. "Excuse me, Mister." Matt stepped in his path. "We're trying to find the Ward Freighting offices. Do you have any idea how we get there?"

"Why on earth would you want to go there?" The man arched a brow.

"Well, it's a long story." Kitty stepped forward with a smile guaranteed to melt any icy exterior. "But the short of it is that we need to find it and talk with whoever's running it."

"A lady like you should stay away from a place like that." The man advised with a soft smile towards Kitty before turning a critical eye to Matt. "And no man, who'd call himself a gentleman, should ever think of taking a lady there."

"Well, thank you for your opinion." Matt tucked his thumbs in his belt, a little irritated. "But you didn't answer my question. Can you tell us how to get there or not?"

"Three blocks down." The man jerked a thumb behind him. "Then two blocks north. Worst part of town, close to the water's edge. Name's over the door. You can't miss it, although you should." With a curt tip of his hat to Kitty, he stepped past them and continued on his way.

"Well, what was that about?" Kitty asked as she watched the man leave.

"I don't know." Matt shrugged. "But at least we know which direction to go."

As Matt and Kitty walked, they began to understand why the two people they asked were less than enthusiastic about helping them find the offices.

"Doesn't exactly look like a place where you'd find a decent business." Kitty remarked as she spied numerous empty and derelict buildings and houses. "Looks kinda sketchy."

"Yeah, it does." Matt protectively pulled her closer to him. "That fella did say this was close to the water but I'm beginning to wonder if he didn't mean it was 'in' the water. I've not seen it yet."

"Yeah, I know." Kitty swiveled her head from side to side on the narrow road looking for a building that would fit her expectations. But when she finally saw it, she was shocked and more than dismayed. "Matt, please tell me I'm not seeing what I am."

Matt stopped in the middle of the street and stared at the building she had pointed at. The small, one room clapboard building with the fading and peeling gray paint and slightly tilted sign sat alone in a weed filled yard with little sign of any activity in or around it.

"Surely this isn't it." Kitty frowned. "I mean, maybe there are two Ward offices in town."

"Well," Matt shrugged. "Only one way to find out." Holding her arm tightly, Matt led them over to the building. But the door was locked and no matter how forcefully Matt pounded on it, there was no response from within. "Guess they've taken the day off." He sighed.

Kitty shook her head. "It's the middle of the week and it's not a holiday. They should be open. That is, if this is the correct place."

Matt sighed and took a cautious look around them. "Well, whether it is or not, I say we get out of here and go back to the house. We can finish going over those papers and maybe look through that book."

"I wouldn't disagree." Kitty nodded as she gripped his arm.

Remembering their plans to pick up some supplies, they found a small general store not far from the house. Quickly, they gathered what they needed and left to return to the house. The long walk around town had shown them two sides of the historic town both good and bad but they were now tired and just wanted to set down for a while to review the papers Kitty had as well as read the small book Boyles had given them.

When they reached their destination, Matt stopped in the middle of the driveway, pulling Kitty to a stop beside him. "Kitty, did you mess with the curtains on the first floor?"

Kitty frowned and looked up at him. "No. Why?"

"That one on the right of the door is pushed back. I don't remember any of them being open." Matt gripped her arm. "Go back, Kitty. Go down by the gate and stay there until I tell you otherwise."

Watching to make sure she did as he said, Matt placed the bag he was carrying down on the ground and then moved slowly to the door. Without thinking he moved his hand towards his holster before he remembered he hadn't worn it. Slowly and quietly, he gripped the door handle but it was locked.

Glancing back at Kitty he stood back and looked around. He didn't see anything or hear anything. Moving back down the drive, he stepped close to Kitty. "Give me the key. I don't see or hear anything, but I don't want you in there until I check this place out."

"Matt, that's silly." Kitty shook her head as she reached into her handbag for the key. "I doubt anyone's in there. What on earth would they want?"

"I don't know." Matt took the key. "But if someone's in there, I'll ask them. Now you stay put." Hoping she'd do as he said, Matt moved back to the house, quickly unlocked the door and stepped in. For several moments, he stood still and silent at the door, hoping to hear a creak of a floorboard or the whisper of movement somewhere to tell him where an intruder was. But he heard nothing.

"Matt, there's no one here." Kitty spoke softly but the sound of her voice acted like a cannon shot on him.

"I thought I told you to stay outside." He gave her a stern look.

Kitty merely rolled her eyes. "I did but I got tired of that and I came inside because there's no one here."

Matt started to argue that with her when the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard from the second floor. "Get out of here." Matt hissed at Kitty as he took off for the second floor.

Kitty hesitated only for a moment before racing upstairs behind him.

TBC

AN: As I've said before, I've never been to Salem, so I have no idea what side of town was the 'bad side' or even if there was one back then and it doesn't matter. This is fiction and although I'm trying to be as historically accurate as I can, I don't need to be a fanatic about it.


	8. Chapter 8

**House of Ward Chapter 8**

When Matt reached the second floor he stopped at the top of the stairs, listening intently. Although Kitty had come quickly up behind him, she'd come fairly quietly so he wasn't concerned that she had scared anyone away or that he'd missed further sounds because of her. But now that he was up here, he heard nothing.

"Matt." Kitty spoke very softly as she tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the bedroom across from them, the one that had been assigned to him by Bowles. The door was open and a sound could be heard emanating from it, something between a whisper and a moan.

Matt grabbed Kitty's arm and pulled her into the room they'd shared. "Stay here." He ordered as he grabbed his carpet bag and quickly pulled his gun from it. Going back to the door, he stopped and cautiously peered out into the hallway. The door of the other room was still open and the sound was still coming from it. "Stay." He ordered again as he slipped out into the hallway and down to the room.

Hesitating only for a moment outside of the door, he quietly cocked his gun and then barged into the room, knocking the door back against the wall, gun raised high. The room was empty. There was no one there. Matt took a deep breath, confused.

He'd heard the sounds coming from that room as he'd gone towards it. No one had come out of it. But it was empty. Stepping over to the small closet, he opened the door and confirmed what he already knew. Nothing there. Stooping down, he also checked under the bed. Same results. Sighing he tucked his gun into his belt.

"How'd he get away?" Kitty asked from the doorway. "I watched from the hall and no one came out."

"I know." Matt shook his head as he looked around the room again while checking the window sash. "But I don't know how he got past me. Window's tight. It hasn't been opened for some time. There's no other door leading out of here."

"Well, I guess we could've imagined it." Kitty's tone of voice gave the lie to that.

"Maybe." Matt didn't believe that either. "Come on. Lets get the groceries we bought put up and we'll finish going through that paperwork of yours." After they left the room, Matt made sure to close the door tightly behind him, double checking the knob before leading the way down stairs.

They hadn't bought that much so it didn't take long to put them up. That chore completed, Kitty grabbed the folder and the small book and sat down at the large table in the dining room after pulling the dust cover off of it.

"Well, lets see exactly what we have here." She pulled the folder open and quickly shuffled through the paperwork, ignoring, for the moment, the sheets she'd already looked at while at the restaurant.

"How about I make some coffee, while you go through that?" Matt suggested.

"I have a better idea." Kitty smiled. "I have a bottle of my finest in my carpet bag upstairs."

"That is a better idea." Matt grinned as he left and climbed up to the bedroom. After claiming the bottle from Kitty's bag, he pulled his gun from his belt and started to place it back in his bag. But he changed his mind and grabbed his gun belt, buckling it on. He felt better with it close at hand.

As he left the room, he looked down the hallway to the other room. The door was ajar. "Broken latch." He muttered to himself, although he seriously doubted it.

Going back downstairs, he paused at the sideboard in the dining room and pulled out a couple of glasses. "These things are dusty." He blew the dust off but shook his head. "Let me get a cloth and wipe them down."

Kitty didn't answer, as she was engrossed in the papers before her. When Matt returned, Kitty placed a sheet upside down on the table and picked up another. She didn't look up but acknowledged his presence. "It necessary to wear that gun?"

Matt poured two drinks and sat one beside her on the table. "Could be." He answered as he sat down next to her. "If we weren't imagining things, then someone was either in this house or still is. Having a gun doesn't hurt anything."

Kitty read through the paper in her hand before looking up at Matt. "Well, I found out how Jacob died. It was on the last page in the folder. He died of a heart attack."

"Heart attack?" Matt's brow crinkled. "I thought he was a young man."

"He was." Kitty answered. "But that doesn't mean he couldn't have died of a heart attack. Just means it's harder to believe."

"Well, that's for sure." Matt picked up the paper she'd just laid down and read the report on Jacob's death. "Says he died here in the house and was found by an employee." Matt scratched his head and looked around the room. "That's kind of strange if you ask me. This house doesn't look like it's had any one in it for years much less a man and his employee. I mean even the rooms that Bowles set up for us to use were dusty. And when I went in to make coffee this morning, it was clear no one had been in that kitchen for some time."

"I was thinking the same thing." Kitty closed the folder and leaned back in her chair. "Something's not right here, Matt. Not just about how Jacob died but the whole thing. I mean from what I've seen in those papers, the business is moderately successful but I can't see anything to indicate that Jacob was benefitting from it. According to these documents, his father died about 7 years ago and left everything to Jacob. That could explain why this place is so dusty and uncared for, because Jacob was out roaming the country. But why didn't Jacob come back here when his father died. And why didn't he come here when he got back to town?"

"What do you mean?" Matt asked. "I thought he died here."

"Well, that's what some of these papers indicate but I found an invoice showing he checked into a hotel here about 3 months ago and by the prices, it was a cheap hotel."

Kitty pulled out a piece of paper from the folder and extended it to Matt, who took it and studied what was written on it. "That's cheap even by Dodge standards." Matt handed her back the paper.

"Uh huh." Kitty nodded as she put the invoice back into the folder. "I can understand why it took Jacob so long to get back. I mean if he was out mining, it probably took a while for anyone to find him. But I don't understand why he didn't come here to this house. Why check into a cheap motel? This place isn't the finest but it's better than some flop house."

Matt shrugged and looked around the room they were in. "Well, this place is kinda run down. Maybe it wasn't livable."

Kitty rolled her eyes at him. "Matt, there's been no work done on this place for some time. That's obvious. And although it's run down and dirty and needs some work, it's not that bad. Especially not to a man used to living in mines or tents out in the middle of the mountains."

"You're probably right, Kitty." Matt agreed. "But regardless of his reasons for not living here, he did eventually come here. I mean he did die here."

"Maybe." Kitty shook her head. "But then again maybe not. I thought after going through all this paperwork I'd have some answers but it looks like I came up with even more questions."

"I know." Matt shook his head as he reached down and picked up the slim volume written about the house. "Well, don't know if this will have any answers but maybe it'll give us an idea of where to get em."

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**House of Ward Chapter 9**

**AN: Just another thank you to all of you whom I couldn't PM. I do appreciate you.**

While Matt perused the small book about the house, Kitty went to the kitchen and prepared them a pot of coffee. By the time she came back in to the dining room, Matt had finished the book.

"Well, this book was nothing more than rumors." He put the book down on the table. "A lot of rumors and no proof."

"Oh?" Kitty picked it up and flipped through it. "What do you mean?"

"Well, this Hamilton fella, that wrote this thing, has a long list of rumors about this house and the Ward family. But he doesn't list a single thing in here to back it up. The only facts he has in here are easily obtained anywhere. But he doesn't a single ounce of proof to back up the rest of it."

"The rest of it?" Kitty arched a brow at him.

"Um hum." Matt nodded. "According to this book, Jacob's grandfather, Jeremy Ward, started the family business in shipping." Matt started.

"Yeah, I saw that in the some of those other papers." Kitty nodded.

"Yep. But is there anything in those papers to show how ruthless he was?" Matt asked.

"No…. How ruthless?"

"Well, according to this, anyone who got in his way either got out of his way, or got crushed. He was not too well liked but he was very well feared. People avoided him like the plague. When he finally retired he had a shipping empire rivaled by very few."

"And he left that empire to his son Benjamin, who expanded it." Kitty put in.

"Yep." Matt nodded. "But that wasn't all Benjamin did."

"Oh?" Kitty pulled up a chair and sat down next to him. "Do go on."

"Well, according to this little book, he married a young girl named Rachel when he was 18 and she was 15. They had one stillborn baby boy and a little girl. After the second baby was born, the doctor told Rachel she couldn't have any more children. Rachel died a few days after the little girl was born and the baby died about a week after that. Rumor has it that Rachel and the baby didn't die natural deaths. But since the Wards were rich that rumor remained just that."

"Are you saying that Benjamin killed Rachel because she couldn't have any more kids?" Kitty couldn't imagine that.

"No." Matt shook his head. "I'm just saying that's the rumor. That same rumor also indicates that the baby girl died because she was a girl. Apparently Benjamin wanted only sons to carry his name."

"Oh, Matt." Kitty closed her eyes in horror at the thought. "I can't imagine…"

"Me neither, Kitty." Matt placed a comforting hand on her arm. "But remember, this only a rumor. We don't know that the baby and Rachel didn't die of natural causes." Matt didn't believe that, even as he said it, but he wanted to offer Kitty any comfort he could.

"Yeah." Kitty's voice showed she didn't believe him. "So, what else does that little book say?"

"After Rachel died, Benjamin married again. This time a 17 year old girl named Ann. Ann had three miscarriages in a row and died of drowning not long after the third one. The official cause was falling asleep in the bathtub."

"Oh, God." Kitty gasped.

"I doubt God had anything to do with it, Kitty." Matt sighed. "Anyway, about a year after Ann died, he married for the third time to a girl named Martha. They hadn't been married a year before Martha gave birth to twin boys. Jacob and Jeremy. Martha died in childbirth."

"Jacob had a twin?" Kitty frowned. "Then why did he leave everything to me? Why not his brother?"

"Because Jeremy died about 10 years ago when they were about 18 years old." Matt told her. "Details are scant, but somehow he broke his neck falling from the balcony upstairs. Just like everything else with this family, rumors were rampant about how that happened but the Sherriff didn't investigate it as anything more than an accident and nothing more was said or done."

Kitty shook her head. "When Mr. Boyles said there was a lot of tragedy in this house, he sure wasn't joking."

"No, he wasn't." Matt agreed. "But that's not all of it. According to this, shortly after Jeremy died, Jacob left town and Benjamin got married one more time. A woman named Prudence."

"Let me guess, she was young and died tragically." Kitty interjected.

"You guessed it." Matt nodded. "She was 20 and died just a year into their marriage. Official report is that she fell down the stairs and broke her neck, right after the doctor told Benjamin she was most likely barren."

"I see," Kitty said. "So apparently Benjamin didn't marry for love. He married in order to have children and if they couldn't provide him with what he wanted, he did away with them and got another one."

"Well, that's what this book is suggesting." Matt answered. "It's also suggesting that Jacob was responsible for his brother's death. It implies that Jeremy was Benjamin's favorite and when Jacob killed him, Benjamin forced him out of the house."

"Well," Kitty ticked her head. "I…." Kitty suddenly stopped talking and looked around her. "Is it my imagination, or did this room suddenly get a lot colder?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, it did." Getting up, he walked around the room, looking for some sort of draft. "It's not cold outside, so it shouldn't be cold in here."

"Maybe so." Kitty continued to look around the room. "But it is. It's also noisy. Do you hear that?"

Matt stopped and listened. "No," he shook his head. "I…" he looked up and saw the chandelier, above the table, swinging wildly. Matt saw Kitty was standing right next to the table, in the path of the chandelier's arc. "Kitty! Move!"

Before Kitty could even react, Matt had jumped across the room and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to the side just as the chandelier came loose from the ceiling and fell crashing to the floor, right where Kitty had been standing. 

"You okay?" Matt pulled her close as they both stared at the mess of fallen plaster and debris from the ceiling.

"Thanks to you." Kitty swallowed hard. "Matt, how'd that happen? I mean, I could understand it falling maybe, but the way it was swinging?"

"I don't know, Kitty." Matt released her and started over to inspect the damage just when they heard a high keening wailing coming from the second floor. "Stay here." He ordered as he left the dining room, heading for the stairs.

"Not on your life." Kitty shook her head as she followed him out of the room and up the stairs.

Matt came to a complete halt at the top of the stairs, trying to see where the sound had come from. But the house was deathly silent. The only sounds to be heard was his and Kitty's heavy breathing.

"Matt?" Kitty clutched at his arm. "What…"

She stopped talking as she and Matt both stood in total confusion and watched a ethereal looking young woman walk down the hallway and through the wall into a bedroom.

"Did I…" Kitty swallowed. "Did I see… Tell me I didn't."

"Get your jacket." Matt told her. "And lets go."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**House of Ward Chapter 10**

"There has got to be a logical reason for what we saw." Matt and Kitty had left the house and walked over to the small café, Matt had found that morning. "I don't believe in ghosts."

"Well," Kitty ticked her head, "I never thought I did either, but that thing in the house was… Well, I don't know what else to call it. And you have to admit, if there was ever a place prime for haunting, that house is it."

"I can't disagree with you on that." Matt offered a half chuckle as he held the door of the small café open for her and walked in behind her. "But I still believe there's a logical reason for it."

"Afternoon." The owner, the same one from that morning smiled until he recognized Matt. "Uh… Uh, please have a seat."

As Matt and Kitty claimed a table in the corner, a thought came to Matt and when the owner came to take their order, Matt shook his head. "Uh, we do want to order, but before that, would you mind answering a couple of questions for us?"

"Questions?" The man's brow shot up. "What kind of questions?"

"It's about the Ward house." Matt told him.

"The House of Ward, you mean?" The owner, gray haired, slightly stooped with wire rimmed glasses and a finely trimmed mustache pulled a chair out beside Matt and sat down. "Benjamin Ward never let anyone call that cursed place anything but the House of Ward, like it was some grand manor instead of the haunted hell-hole that it is." He paused and looked over at Kitty. "Pardon the language, Mrs."

Kitty nodded. "You said 'haunted'? What makes you think that?" She didn't mention her own growing suspicions on that.

"Evra body in town knows it." He answered. "When the nights are dark and the wind's blowing just right, you can hear the girls cry out. And if it isn't them, it's that poor boy Jeremy or the babes that didn't make it. Some say ol' Ben can be seen from time to time, stumping past that front window, waiting for Jacob to come home. Up until he died, he'd pretty much park himself in front of those windows and watch out of them, waiting on Jacob."

"You seem to know an awful lot about that place and the Ward family." Matt observed. "Care to tell us about it?"

"You're a stayin' in it." The owner pointed out. "I would think I wouldn't have to tell you anything about it."

"Well, we stayed in it last night." Kitty answered. "But we know very little about it. Look, Mr…"

"Harris." He smiled at her finally. "Able Harris, Ma'am. And you are?"

"My name is Kitty Russell." Kitty returned the smile, instantly charming him. "And this is my friend, Matt Dillon. You see, Jacob Ward left that house and the rest of his estate to me when he died. But, well, I'm not sure what it is exactly that he left to me. The businesses, at least on paper, look successful but that house seems so run down and…"

"It is." Able nodded. "No one's lived in that house for the last 7 years. That's when ol' Benjamin died. Someone from that business of his saw to the taking care of the place for a while, expecting young Jacob to come home. But after a couple of years when he didn't come, they quit and just let it be. Only the spirits stay there now. Well, them and you." He looked from Kitty to Matt and back to Kitty again. "Or are you?"

"Well, that remains to be seen." Kitty shrugged. "As you said, it's not been taken care of. I think Matt and I might be better off at a hotel. Matt said there was one not far from here?"

"The Essex Hotel." Able nodded. "Good and decent place. You'll not be bothered by Haint's there."

"That's the second time you've implied that house is haunted." Matt moved a little closer to the table and spoke a little softer. He was not entirely comfortable with the topic of hauntings or ghosts.

"I'm not implying it, young man." Able shook his head. "It is. Evra body in this town knows it. More'n one have seen them. Evra body that died in that house haunts it. From the girls, Ol' Ben murdered, to them babies and Young Jeremy and even Old Jeremy, that place is full of ghosts."

Matt and Kitty exchanged trouble glances. "I see." Matt shifted in his seat.

"Do you?" Able studied Matt. "Young man, you strike me as sensible, strong of heart and spirit. I surmise you're as courageous as they come. But even the bravest of men tend to shy away from such things as inhabit that house. And you, young lady," he turned his head to look at Kitty. "You're probably just as strong and courageous as he is. But it takes more than that to handle wandering spirits like those."

"Well, Mr. Harris." Kitty shook her head. "Even if what you say is true, it doesn't help me very much. You see, I don't plan to live there. My home is in Dodge City, Kansas. And eventually I will go home, but I have to decide what to do with this house as well as the Ward business and anything else."

"And in order for her to do that, she needs all the information she can get on it." Matt put in.

"Exactly." Kitty flashed Matt a smile. "I have all kinds of paperwork on everything but that only gives me limited information."

""Well, I can't give you too much information." Able shook his head. "But I can give you some good advice." Taking a look around his café, Able leaned in close. "Get rid of it, all of it, the house, business, everything. They're cursed and you will be too if ya keep them."

Straightening up, Able turned to leave, but then stopped and looked back at them. "I'll have your dinner to you shortly."

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

**House of Ward Chapter 11**

Matt and Kitty left the cafe in a somber mood. Matt's fear for Kitty had tripled now. Able, instead of answering questions, had succeeded in creating even more in their minds.

"Well, I know one thing." Kitty sighed as they walked away. "I plan on getting rid of that house and business as soon as possible."

"I can't say I'm not happy about that." Matt told her. "But why? Because a superstitious old man said they were cursed?"

"Well, I can't say what he said didn't bother me." Kitty told him. "But it's more than that. Matt, this whole thing just feels wrong. That business may be totally on the up and up. But what if it isn't? I mean a successful business in a disreputable part of town in a run down building that's closed. I think there's something wrong there. And if I'm right, then it needs to be closed down. Not sold for someone else to deal with."

"Okay." Matt agreed. "But you're not going to handle this alone. If you are right, and that business isn't on the up and up, then spooks aside, it could be dangerous."

Kitty smiled up at him. "I didn't intend to do it alone. That's what I have you for."

Matt tucked his thumbs into his belt with a slight chuckle. "You do for a fact. But Kitty, this won't be easy. We don't even know where these people are that's running this thing or who they are."

"That doesn't mean I can't find out." Kitty declared. "Look, there's most likely an office back at the house that we can go through and if there's nothing there, I'll check at the city clerk's office. As for the house, I'll sell it for what I can get or leave it to the city if I can't."

"That mean we're going back to the house tonight?" Matt wasn't too fond of that idea. He didn't believe in ghosts but there was still something unsettling about the place nevertheless. 

"It does." Kitty nodded. "Besides, why spend money on a hotel room when the room we stayed in last night was plenty comfortable? I mean, you're probably right and what we saw was either our imagination or wind or something."

"Guess you got a point." Matt sighed. "Come on."

When they reached the house, Matt made Kitty hang back at the entry gate while went on up to the house and had a close look around. He saw no signs of anyone being there while they had been gone and the door was still locked tight. "It's alright, I guess." He motioned her forward. "Doesn't look like anyone's been here."

"Good." Kitty relaxed. "Lets go in and see what we can find."

"Sounds good." Matt agreed, took the keys to the house from her and opened the door, pushing it open.

Kitty grimaced slightly as it creaked loudly. "I hate that sound." She said as she entered. "If I was going to keep this house, that's the first thing I'd fix."

Matt chuckled. "You mean that's the first thing you'd have me fix, don't ya?"

Kitty grinned but shook her head. "Nope. I have other plans for you, Mr. Dillon, later on, upstairs."

Once inside the house, Kitty shrugged off her shawl and removed her hat, placing it on the hall table along with her reticule. "I don't know if anything's here or not but we have to start somewhere. I also want to double check those papers that attorney gave me. I remember seeing a couple of names on them that I didn't know. They could be who we're looking for."

Matt removed his hat and coat and placed them beside her things. "Well, let's go see what we can find." He didn't see his hat lift off the table and float effortlessly to the floor.

Leading the way to the large corner room at the back of the house, Matt opened the door to a large very masculine looking room. "Saw this room this morning when I searched the house." He told her.

Entering the room, their attention was centered on the massive oak desk, flanked by two leather chairs which dominated the dust caked room.

Kitty took a look around at the small credenza under the window and the heavily laden bookshelves. "Well, unless we get lucky, we're going to be busy looking for a while."

"Could be." Matt nodded as he moved around behind the desk and pulled on the handle of one of the drawers. "Seems locked."

"Well, I don't have any keys." Kitty sighed. "The only key Boyles gave me was to the house."

"That's okay." Matt grunted softly as he pulled hard on the drawer and successfully managed to pull it out. "Don't need em."

Kitty put her hands on hips as she surveyed the damage to the desk. "I might've wanted to keep that desk, you know."

"You still can." Matt grinned. "But the more I break it up, the easier it will be to move."

Kitty shook her head at him and moved over to the nearest bookcase to look through it as Matt began to go through the drawers. "From the looks of these books, they weren't read much." She blew a thick layer of dust off one as she pulled it out and flipped through its pages.

"I doubt any of them were for that purpose." Matt told her as he pushed that drawer back into the desk and pulled out another. "I have a feeling a man like Ben Ward didn't spend much on reading. They're probably here for the same reason this heavy furniture is. It looks good."

"I guess so." Kitty nodded as she put that book back and extracted another one. "But even for looks, you think he'd have something interesting. Most of these are books look as boring as the dust covering them. Look at this one." She held up the book she'd just pulled out so Matt could see its pages. "I'm not sure this is even readable."

Matt glanced at the book and shook his head. "That's written in Chinese, Kitty. It's not readable to us but to someone who understands it…"

"Chinese?" Kitty frowned. "How'd you know that?"

"Remember a few years when that Chinese man came to town? You know the one who got his pigtail cut off by those two cowboys?"

Kitty suddenly nodded as she remembered the whole thing and the people involved. "Yeah, I remember. He teach you how to read Chinese?"

"No, but I saw enough of his writing to recognize it as such." Matt returned his attention to the desk.

"Why in the world would he have a book written in Chinese?" Kitty wondered as she flipped through its pages.

"I don't know." Matt shrugged. "Maybe Ward had Chinese customers or something."

Kitty frowned as she put that book back and pulled out another. "I guess." Pulling out another book she opened it to find another tome written in same characters as the last. Still not understanding it, she started to put the book back when she noticed the name written on its spine. "Hey, Matt, look at this? Why would be a book titled 'Mrs. Peele's Recipes' be written in Chinese?"

"Huh?" Matt turned and took the book from her hand, looking at the title and then the contents while Kitty turned back to the bookcase and pulled out the first book she'd seen.

"This one is titled, 'Secular Hymns'. Matt, something's off here." Kitty began to pull out more books and look through them. "Here's another one."

Matt began to go thru each of the books in turn and although he couldn't read them, he did begin to notice a pattern on each of the pages. "Kitty, look. Each one of these has pages and pages of numbered lines. We may not have found names, or at least the ones we were looking for, but I think we found something more valuable."

"What?" Kitty didn't get out books written in Chinese with weird titles could be valuable.

"When we get to the people who's been running Ward's Freighting, we'll have a way to put them out of business." Matt answered as he turned back to the bookcase. "Lets go through the rest of these books."

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**House of Ward Chapter 12**

**AN: Once again, I find myself short of time so again, I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and leave a review. I truly do appreciate you.**

"I don't get it." Kitty remarked as she pulled another book from the shelf and flipped thru it. "How are these weird books going to help us any? We can't even read them."

"No, we can't." Matt answered as he turned back to the desk and pulled out another drawer. "Not yet anyway. But when we find out who's been running this whole shebang, they just might help us stop them. If I'm right, those books are shipping logs."

"Shipping logs?" Kitty frowned as she looked thru another weirdly titled book with Chinese writing inside.

"Un huh." Matt nodded. "Think about it, Kitty. If you're shipping something you'll want to keep a log of that, right?" When she nodded, he continued. "But if that something is illegal, then you don't want anyone to find that log, right?"

"Right." Kitty now understood. "And if someone did find it, you don't want them to be able to read it. So put it in a foreign language and then hide it in plain sight where most people never look."

"That's what I'm thinking." Matt agreed. "Now, since Ben Ward died some time ago, we're probably not going to find anything current in those books, providing we can find a way to get them translated. But even so, whoever's still running this might not know that. If they don't this might convince them to stop."

"I hope so." Kitty replied as she pulled out another book.

An hour later and Kitty and Matt had combed the office as well as the small desk in the living room as well as any other cupboard in the house that might contain information. Having completed that, Kitty went into the kitchen and made coffee for the two of them while Matt built a fire in the parlor room.

Kitty smiled when she entered with a tray. "Glad you did that. It's getting cold in here."

"Yeah, it was." Matt nodded. "Not sure why though. It wasn't that cold outside when I stepped out to get some wood."

"Well, it's an old house." Kitty sat the tray down on the low table in front of the divan. "Guess it's just really drafty."

"I guess." Matt moved over to couch and sat down beside her.

Kitty looked over at the 7 books and 3 folders on an adjacent chair, which comprised all the information they had been able to find.

"Well, if what we need isn't here, then we'll visit the county clerk's office tomorrow." Kitty told Matt as he picked up a cup of coffee and took a long sip. "Not sure what else we can do."

"I have one other suggestion." Matt sat his cup down. "If we can't find anything here or at the clerk's office, we go back to that lawyer. He'll tell me what I want to know or else."

Kitty shook her head. "Oh, that'd be great. You'd be in jail before you could turn around. This is not Dodge City and you are not the law here, Matt."

"I don't need to be." Matt told her. "I doubt it would take too much to convince that attorney to give me what I want. Threats usually work best when you look the part but don't do anything."

Kitty lightly chuckled. "You know, I do believe that."

Matt opened his mouth to reply but quickly closed it as a sound could be heard coming from the hallway. Halfway between a growl and a laugh, it was both loud and indistinct.

"What in the world was that?" Kitty put her plate down and stood up.

"I don't know." Matt quickly got to his feet and moved towards the door. "Hello?" He called into the hallway before stepping out into it. "Who's here?" His inquiries were met with silence. "Kitty stay there." He said when he heard her coming towards him. "I'm going to check this out." Moving quickly, Matt hurried thru one room after another on the bottom floor but found nothing and no one. If Kitty hadn't of heard the sound, he might've thought he was imagining it. He might still have if Kitty hadn't suddenly cried out.

Rushing back to the parlor, he found her standing the middle of the room with a terrified expression on her face. "Kitty? What's wrong?" He stepped towards her but she didn't acknowledge him. "Kitty?"

Kitty finally looked up at him. "Something grabbed my sleeve, Matt." She swallowed hard. "Something grabbed me."

Matt knew Kitty well enough to know she didn't make things up and wasn't prone to flights of fancy or seeing things. But he wasn't yet ready to believe in invisible people grabbing them or making noises around the old house. "Kitty, I don't know what's going on around here, but I'm sure it has a logical explanation."

"Oh yeah?" A look of irritation crossed her face, replacing the fear. "Like what? Invisible mice? Matt, it wasn't…"

Before she could finish her sentence, the door, which led to the hallway, suddenly swung back and forth before slamming hard against the frame.

"Make that logical." Kitty demanded as she stared at the closed door.

"Kitty, grab your things." Matt took her arm to lead her towards the hallway. "I'm going to take you to that hotel until I can figure out what's going on here."

"No." Kitty stubbornly shook her head as she pulled away from him. "This is my house until I sell it and no matter what's going on, and if you stay, I'm staying with you."

"Kitty, there's probably someone in this house trying to scare you. Now, I want you out of here before they decide that scaring you isn't enough."

"Just how do you know it's me they want to scare?" Kitty's hands found their place on her hips as she scowled up at him. "You're the one with all the enemies, aren't you Mr. Marshal?"

"Not in Massachusetts." Matt's voice rose in frustration and a touch of anger at her mule headed refusal to leave. "You're the one that owns this place. Not me."

"I don't care wh…." Kitty stopped as a pitiful moan penetrated the room and a picture on the wall suddenly launched it's self across the room, just barely missing her head. Swallowing hard, Kitty looked down then back up at Matt. "I didn't unpack this morning. It won't take long to gather up my things."

Matt shook his head. "You're not going up there alone. I don't know what's here, but I'm not leaving you alone to find out. Come on."

It took them only a few minutes to gather their things as well as the books and papers and the two were soon out of the house and headed down the road to the Essex Hotel.

TBC

AN: A friend of mine suggested I watch some ghost hunters on YouTube to sort of acquaint myself with what actually goes on in a haunted house and what might happen. I can honestly say, I learned a lot from watching those videos. It seems that a lot of 'ghost hunters', cuss a lot, use the words "DUDE, CREEPY & SKETCH" excessively, squeal at every noise, regardless how natural it is and love to film spiders in all their glory. They love gadgets of all kinds and almost never shut up. But as far as all things haunted….. Well, I had to use my imagination for that.


	13. Chapter 13

**House of Ward Chapter 13**

For propriety's sake, Matt and Kitty rented two rooms at the hotel and waited until all was quiet before Matt left his room to join Kitty in hers. "Kitty?" He knocked softly at the door.

"Come in here, Matt." Kitty quietly ushered him in.

Matt stepped in and looked at the plainly furnished room. Furnished with a full bed in the middle with a small chest of drawers and a single window looking out over the street with a chair beneath, it was far from luxurious. But at least things didn't move that weren't supposed to. "This may be not the finest but at least it'll be safe for you while I go back to that house and check it out."

"It feels like luxury to me after that place." Kitty answered. "I seriously have no idea what's going on there, but it's awfully scary. And I do not want you going back there."

"Kitty," Matt started to argue with her but she quickly cut him off.

"No, Matt and that's final. Look, if you're right, and what happened there was done by real live people, then it's way too dangerous to go back there alone. I know you're tough and all but there's really no need to take that kind of chance. Look, we got the information we needed here with us. Even if someone is at that house, who cares? Let them have it. And if it is haunted, like that café owner believes, well let the ghosts have it instead."

"Guess you've got a point." Matt agreed as he pulled off his gunbelt and hung it on the bed frame. "Besides, it doesn't concern me as much as getting this mess straightened out."

"Well, I think we're now one step closer." Kitty pointed to the paperwork strewn across the bed. "I went back over that folder that Bowles gave me and found a name. Tom Willing. He's listed as an 'Associate' on the deed for that empty little office. At first I thought maybe it was just a made up name or something used to buy that place. But then I looked at a couple of other papers from that office and found his name on them. On one of them, he's listed as a manager. Everything else shows either Ben or Jacob in charge, even after Jacob left town. So this is probably him."

"It's possible I guess," Matt shrugged. "But then that could be a coincidence."

"I don't think so." Kitty picked up another piece of paper and handed it to him. "This is a newspaper clipping, dated from before Ben died. It's all about how good an employer Ben was and it mentions his strong right arm, 'Tom Willing'. Now I don't know everything yet, but I have a feeling he's kept his name as far from Ward Freighting as he could and left Jacob's name on everything in order to keep from being arrested should something happen and the law shut them down."

"You're probably right, Kitty." Matt agreed. "As a matter of fact, I'll say you're exactly right. But we still have to prove it."

"I know." She nodded, "But it's a start. Oh, and I also l flipped through those books. Now I can't read Chinese, of course, but I did find a scrap of paper in the back of one of them that had the name "Woo" on it." Picking up one of the books, she opened the back cover and extended it to Matt.

Taking the small square of paper, Matt read the words written there. "Mr. Woo. Delivery Pending. 25 Oct."

"Well," Matt shrugged. "Chinese name and Chinese writing in the same book makes it look connected but then again it could just be a coincidence."

After moving the papers off the bed, Kitty sat down on its side in defeat. "Matt, this is all such a mess. I just want it all over with and done now."

Matt sat down beside her and pulled her into his arms. "I know, honey. I know. But I don't want you to worry about this. You hear me? Tomorrow morning, we're going down to Bowles office and file whatever papers you need to, in order to close this business down and get what ever info we can from him. Then we're going to the Sherriff's office."

"The Sherriff's office?" Kitty looked up at him with a concerned frown. "Do think that's wise? What if he's involved in some way? I mean, if this business is as illegal as I'm afraid it is, why hasn't he shut it down?"

"If he is involved, in any way what so ever, I will find a way to stop him too." Matt pulled her back to him. " But if he's not, then we could use his help." Seeing the doubt still in her blue eyes, he quickly gave her a gentle squeeze. "Honey, trust me. We'll get this all taken care of, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

The next morning, the two of them rose early and hurriedly dressed. Despite her distaste for early mornings, Kitty was anxious to get this ordeal finished. Despite the weird events of the previous evening, she wasn't sure the house was 'haunted' but she knew now she had no desire to keep it. Let someone else deal with it.

The front desk clerk of the hotel had told Matt where he could hire a buggy and so after quickly dressing, he hurried to the address given him and rented a small black carriage to take them about their errands that day. When he returned to the hotel, he found Kitty already downstairs and waiting somewhat impatiently in front of the hotel. Before he could move, she was already climbing into the seat beside him.

"In a hurry?" He asked with a chuckle that dried up when he saw her expression.

"You know I am." She answered. "I want this done with."

"Well, alright." He snapped the reins and started the buggy off in the direction of the lawyer's office. When Matt got close to the office, he reined the horse in and pulled to a stop just shy of the office. "I have a feeling Bowles isn't going to want to see us. No use in giving him advance notice that we're here."

Quickly climbing out of the carriage, Matt crossed around to Kitty's side and helped her out, taking her arm as they moved down the street to the office. Kitty raised her hand to knock on the door, but Matt shook his head. Reaching out, he grasped the doorknob and quickly opened the door, rushing inside, intending to surprise the lawyer. What he saw was not what he expected.

"Matt?" Kitty tried to push past when he stopped in the middle of the doorway without going forward. "What is it?"

"Kitty…" Matt couldn't finish before she found her way around him and gasped at the sight before her.

"Oh… no." She muttered as the breath went out of her.

"Come on, Kitty." Matt took her arm and pulled her from the office. "We're about to find out if we can trust that Sherriff or not."

TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**House of Ward Chapter 14**

Sherriff Worley was a big man with iron gray hair, a robust figure and a wiry mustache. He fit the standard description of a small town Sherriff with more girth than wits. But looks could be very deceiving. Intelligent brown eyes took in the sight in Bowles' office for several long moments before turning back to Matt.

"He was like this when you came in?"

"Yeah." Matt nodded. "My friend, Kitty Russell, and I came here to get some information from him about something she inherited but when we walked in…" Matt looked again at Bowels, sitting in his chair; eyes bulged out and mouth gaping open, his tongue on the desk in front of him.

Worley looked over at the tall, gaunt nearly bald man who'd just come in. "You can take him, Fred. Check his clothes real good though. Bring me anything you find."

"Alright, Sherriff." Fred's voice matched his looks.

Worley turned back to Matt. "Your friend, where is she?"

"I left her at the restaurant up the street." Matt answered. "She's seen a lot of bad things back in Dodge City, where we're from, but… well, nothing like that."

"Dodge?" Worley raised a brow. "I've heard about that place. Heard it was pretty wild."

"Still is, sometimes." Matt answered. Worley hadn't yet asked him who he was exactly and Matt was content to answer only the questions asked, until he could a handle on this man and whether or not he could be trusted.

"You a rancher there? Or a farmer or something?" Worley asked as he watched Fred and his assistant pull the dead man onto a litter and move towards the door.

"Or something." Matt answered. "What I do for a living doesn't have much to do with what happened here though, Sherriff. Of course, to be honest, I'm not sure what did happen, aside from the obvious."

"Bowles was a lousy lawyer." Worley shrugged. "He knew just enough about the law to be dangerous and he had some of the worst of society as his clients. Not to mention, he wasn't known to keep his mouth shut as much as he should've. I'd say he mouthed off about the wrong person or to the wrong person and they made sure he wouldn't do it again."

"So you think he was killed for talking?" Matt considered the idea and found it plausible.

"Yeah," Worley nodded. "Either that, or they killed him to keep him from talking."

Matt paled ever so slightly. Most people wouldn't have noticed a thing in Matt's countenance, but Worley did. "Mister, I have an idea you've got more to do with this than just finding the body. Want to tell me about it?"

Matt had lived a long by his instincts and his instincts told him to keep his thoughts to himself and trust no one, at least not yet.

"I had nothing to do with this man's death, Sherriff." He answered truthfully. "Neither did my friend, Miss Russell. We came here on business, like I said."

"How well did you know him?" Worley asked.

"We didn't." Matt answered. "We got to town the night before last and he met us at the train station and took us to the house she inherited. Then he picked us up yesterday morning, brought us here and she signed the papers to get her inheritance. Those were the only times we saw him until this morning."

"And, uh, you came here to ask him some questions about…?" Worley seemed suspicious.

"Like I told you." Matt stood to his full height, which was at least 6 inches taller than Worley. That usually intimidated lesser men, but it didn't the Sherriff. Matt wasn't sure if that was good or bad. "She had some questions to ask him about her inheritance."

Worley nodded thoughtfully. "I'll need to talk to her too."

"Alright." Matt sighed. "Follow me." Without waiting for the Sherriff to respond, Matt turned and left Bowles office and headed out and down the street to where he'd left Kitty to wait. He didn't speak to the man or turn to see if he was following. He knew he was. What Matt didn't know yet was whether Worley could be trusted or not.

Only when they reached the restaurant did Matt stop and turn to the man behind him. "You're the Sherriff here and as such, I'll bow to your authority to question us. But if you do anything her or try to intimidate her in any way…"

"That a threat?" Worley didn't look frightened at the aspect of tangling with Matt.

"It's a promise." Matt answered as he walked on into the restaurant. "Kitty." He walked over to where she sat with a cold cup of coffee in front of her. "This is Sherriff Worley. He'd like to talk to you."

Kitty looked up at the barrel chested man in front of her before looking at Matt. Seeing no warning in his expression she looked back at Worley. "Sherriff. What do you want to know?"

Worley respectfully removed his hat and pointed to an empty chair next to the one Matt had just taken. "May I have a seat?" When Kitty nodded, he quickly sat down and placed his hat on the table beside him. "Your friend here said you saw what was left of Bowles."

"Well, some." Kitty answered. "Matt wouldn't let me come all the way into the office and brought me down here while he sent someone to get you. I've seen a lot of horrible things but I'm grateful Matt shielded me from most of that. From what little I did see, it wasn't too nice."

"No, Ma'am. It wasn't." Worley agreed. "And I think he was right to get you away from there. But what I really want to know is why you were there in the first place. Your friend here said you came to see him about an inheritance?"

"Yes." Kitty nodded. "He sent me a letter a week ago telling me I had been named in a will and that I needed to come here to claim it, so I did. I didn't know what it was until I got here. But after finding out what it was, well, I had some questions so I… we, Matt and I, went down to see if he could answer them. But, uh, he was… was already dead when we got there."

Worley studied the faces of the two people in front of him for several long moments. Finally, he sat back in his chair, apparently having come to a conclusion. "Look folks, I'm going to lay my cards on the table here and I'm hoping you'll do the same. Bowles was a lousy attorney and not worth much as a man. But no matter how bad he was, I still have to try and figure out who killed him. Now, you two may be new to town, but I have a feeling you know more than you're saying and I want to know what that is."

"But we don't, Sherriff." Kitty protested. "The first time we ever laid eyes on him was the night we arrived here."

"I told you that before." Matt put in. "And I'm pretty sure you know what we're saying is true. So why don't you tell us exactly what's going on here? Seems to me, we're not the one hiding some things."

Worley pursed his lips for a moment before nodding. "Alright. But not here. Let's go down to my office."

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**House of Ward Chapter 15**

Following Worley from the restaurant, Kitty moved over close to Matt. Though the weather was mild and the shawl she was wearing was fairly warm, she felt rather chilled and was grateful when Matt wrapped an arm around her as they walked.

"Sherriff." Matt stopped him as he started to walk away. "I rented a buggy this morning to bring us here. If your office isn't close, we can ride over there in it."

Worley shrugged. "It's only a couple of blocks over but I'm sure the lady would prefer to ride. You got room for three in it?"

"We do." Matt answered. "It's right down there." He pointed back to where he'd left the buggy as he turned himself and Kitty and began to walk back to it.

When they pulled up in front of the Sherriff's office, Worley quickly got down. "Come on in folks and I'll make some coffee." He unlocked the door of his office and held it open as they entered.

"Uh, none for me." Kitty shook her head. "I had some at the restaurant."

"Me neither." Matt agreed. "We'd like to get this over with if you don't mind."

"Fair enough." Worley agreed. Placing his hat on a hall tree by the door, he led them to small area in the corner of the jail office and motioned to two chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat folks. The chairs are old but they're comfortable."

Making sure Kitty was seated; Matt lowered himself into the seat beside her and stretched out his legs. "Sherriff…"

"Names Brad." Worley stopped him. "Actually it's Bradford Worley Jr. But I never liked that much. So just call me Brad."

"I don't think we know you well enough for that." Matt shook his head. "Or trust you enough for that."

"Trust?" Worley smiled as he leaned back in his chair. "I guess I can't blame you. After all, you have just met me. But hopefully I'll earn your trust. But in return, I need to be able to trust you. So why don't you tell me what you haven't so far?"

"Such as?" Kitty's voice betrayed her irritation. "We've told you how we met Mr. Bowles and what we were doing there this morning and exactly what we saw. What more do you need to know?"

"What exactly did you inherit?" Worley asked. "And why did you inherit it? Why come all the way up here to claim it?"

"None of that has anything to do with Bowles death." Matt pointed out. "That's Kitty's personal business."

"True." The Sherriff nodded. "But when her personal business brings her into connection with a murder victim then it becomes my business. Besides, if I'm right, her personal business was my professional business long before she inherited it."

Kitty looked over at Matt before turning to Worley. "What are you talking about?"

Worley sat up in his chair. "I know you're the one that inherited Ward Freighting and the House of Ward. What I don't know is how deeply involved you are in that business. However, that's enough for me to suspicion you of Bowles murder since he had some dealings with them. Now, unless you two tell me the truth about everything, I might just have to think I found the people responsible for his death."

"You know better than that." Matt stood up angrily. "And you probably know that we've only been here in town a couple of days so there's no way we could be involved in anything. So what is this really about? What are you fishing for?"

Worley leaned back in his chair again with a grin. "Sit down, Marshal Dillon." He saw the red head and the cowboy exchange shocked glances before turning back to him. "That's right. I know who you are and who the lady is and when you got to town and where you've been while here in town. I made it my business to know. Anything to do with Ward Freighting I pay attention to. But what I don't know, is how deeply involved you are in the Ward business."

"I'm not involved, Sherriff." Kitty sighed with a irritated shake of her head. "The only thing I am is tired and confused and sick of this whole mess."

"I believe you, Miss Russell." Worley told her after a couple of moments of watching her. "But I hope you understand that I had to be sure. Ward Freighting has been a blight on this town for a number of years and I've done everything I could to stop them. But until Jacob Ward showed up a couple of weeks ago, I didn't even know where the owner was. I tried to get something on the man running things here, but he's slicker than slick. When Jacob did arrive here, I tried to talk to him but he always found a way to avoid me. The next thing I know is, he's dead and Bowles has sent for you."

"Sherriff, what do you mean by the business being a blight on this town?" Matt questioned as he paced around the office. "From what little we've been able to find out, the business isn't much more than a little shack at the edge of town that isn't open. The man that owns a café, close to the house, seems to think it and the house are cursed but he wouldn't tell us why. I know you want answers but we do too."

"Sit down, Marshal… please." Worley's voice took on a conciliatory tone. "I obviously don't have all the answers or Ward Freighting would be shut down. But I'll tell you what I can." He waited until Matt sat back down beside Kitty. "In return, though, I need your help."

"If you mean about shutting that business down, you got it." Kitty answered. "I'd already decided to do that."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it." Worley told her. "But it's more than that. If you shut that office down today, the men behind it will just start up somewhere else under a different name and nothing will change. I need more than that. I want those men stopped too."

"What men?" Matt asked. "Who has been running Ward Freighting and what are they doing?"

"The top man's name is Tom Willing." Worley answered. "As far as I can tell, he has a several men working under his direction, but he's the one in charge. He's pretty much been running things since Ben Ward died. As for what they are doing, well, they are doing exactly what the company name implies. They ship merchandise for any business with the price of their services."

"What kind of merchandise?" Kitty had a sickening feeling that she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Officially, they ship lumber, items for grocers, leather goods, furs. Unofficially…" He paused as he studied the people in front of him. "They ship anything illegal. Guns, drugs, people and anything else they can get good money on."

"What?!" Kitty gasped. "People? That… that can't be right."

"Unfortunately, it is." Worley sighed. "They bring people over here from other countries as well as kidnapping people here and then they ship them to where ever they can get a good price out of them. Mexico, most likely. Same thing with the guns and everything else."

"You have proof of this?" Matt asked.

"Circumstantial proof, yes." Worley nodded. "Something that would stick in court, no."

"And, uh, that's what you want Kitty's help on?" Matt now understood and the thought infuriated him. "You want to put her in danger to get the evidence you need to put this man and his employees in jail."

"Yes." Worley nodded. "I can't think of anything else that would work."

"Well, I can." Matt got to his feet. "Come on, Kitty. We're going back to Dodge City. Let the Sherriff do his own work."

Worley rose from his chair to protest as Matt turned to the door but they were both stopped by the quiet voice of the woman in the room.

"Tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it." Kitty answered.

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

**House of Ward Chapter 16**

Matt talked until he was nearly blue in the face, but the stubborn red head that he loved so much, had shut him down at every turn. Nothing he said made any difference to her, even when he offered her a rare declaration of his love.

"Matt, I know you love me." Kitty told him as they drove back to the hotel after leaving the Sherriff's office. "And I know you're worried about this. But I have to do it. Don't you see? I'm the only who can do this? This Willing person may have been running things for years but it's my name on the title of ownership. Now he's not going to want to stop what he's doing so he'll have to deal with me."

"Or kill you." Matt grumbled.

"Oh, Matt." Kitty shook her head and started to protest when suddenly gunfire erupted around them.

"Get down, Kitty." Matt ordered as he snapped the reins and began to race the buggy down the cobblestoned street. Several more shots were fired in their direction but none hit their target as Matt urged the horse to run faster and faster until the sound of gunfire was no longer heard. He didn't stop the buggy until he got to the hotel.

"Come on." He grabbed her arm and quickly helped her out of the buggy and into the hotel. "You go on up to your room and lock yourself in." He ordered. "I'm going to…"

"No, you're not." Kitty clutched his arm, refusing to let him go. "You're not the law here, Matt and you don't know this town. Now, I'm sure someone heard those shots and will get word to the Sherriff. He can check it out."

"But, Kitty…" Matt shook his head but Kitty wouldn't let him continue.

"No, Matt. Please."

Throwing his hands up, Matt sighed heavily. "Alright. Alright. Come on." Taking her hand, he led her up to her room and waited patiently as she fished out the key and opened the door. But just as she reached for the knob, his hand closed over hers. "Wait. Let me." Moving her aside, he pulled his gun and then slowly turned the knob, pushing the door open and swiftly entering with his gun drawn. It only took a swift glance to know that the room was empty but it had been ransacked.

"Good Heavens!" Kitty exclaimed as she followed him into the torn up room. "Matt, ho… I locked the door when I left. Who…"

"The how is that open window." Matt pointed to the broken window across the room, by the bed. "And I have no doubt you know who did it."

"Willing." Kitty moved across the room and sat down on her bed with a heavy sigh. "He or one of his henchmen was probably looking for those books we found."

"Most likely." Matt nodded. "And it looks like he succeeded." He looked around the room but didn't see them.

"Did he?' Kitty asked with a sly smile. Getting up from the bed, she moved over to her largest suitcase. Picking it up, she laid it on the bed and opened it up. Reaching into the bottom, she gave a slight tug on the fabric and pulled up a false bottom. "He didn't get anything." She pointed to the three books and two folders lying there.

Matt chuckled. "Leave it to you."

"You said these books might be valuable so I made sure they were safe." Kitty shrugged.

"Well, they are safe." Matt agreed. "But you're not as long as this Tom Willing is still around."

"Wrong." Kitty shook her head. "I am too safe, as long as I'm with you. But you're right; we do need to stop Willing. That's why it's so important that I do what the Sherriff wants. Don't you see that?"

"What I see is the possibility of you getting hurt or worse if this goes wrong." Matt answered. "Kitty…"

Just then a knock was heard on the door. "Miss Russell?" It was the Sherriff.

Quickly, Kitty opened the door. "Come in, Sherriff."

Walking in, he quickly doffed his hat. "Ma'am. I got a report of shots fired down the street. I, uh, had a feeling, you two might be involved."

"We were shot at." Matt answered with no small amount of irritation. "And shouldn't you be out looking for who did it?"

Worley gave Matt an incredulous look. "I think you know who did this."

"We had an idea." Kitty admitted. "And we know he needs to be stopped."

"Then you are going help me?" Matt and Kitty hadn't agreed to anything when they'd left his office an hour prior.

"If I don't want to continue to be target practice for this man I guess I'd better." Kitty shrugged. "Besides, I don't want my name associated with the type of business this man runs." She looked over at Matt who hadn't said anything but by the firm line of his lips was making it obvious he didn't agree.

She returned her attention to Worley. "So how do I get a hold of Willing? And what do I need to do?"

"You need to stay out of this." Matt answered. "But I know you won't. But you're not going to do it alone. So, Sherriff, tell us how do 'we' do this?"

Perhaps for the first time since he'd pinned on the Sherriff's badge, Worley breathed a little easier. "I know someone who can get a message to Willing. We'll have him meet you somewhere and then I'll be waiting for him when he arrives."

"What good would that do?" Matt questioned. "You can't arrest him without proof of something."

"That's where Miss Russell comes in." Worley told him. "Getting Willing out in the open isn't hard to do. But, like you said, I can't arrest him without proof of something. I figure if Miss Russell would talk to him, maybe act like she's willing to go along with him running things and just letting him use her name, he might say something incriminating. Something, that I can use to lock him up and throw away the key."

"That may not be that easy." Matt warned. "This man's managed to stay in the shadows for a while now. I doubt he'd be easily fooled."

Kitty looked up at Matt with a sly smile. "He hasn't met me yet." She returned her gaze to Worley. "You set it up. Have him meet me at the house. It's as good a place as any and hopefully we can get this over with."

"Alright, Ma'am." He nodded at her and turned for the door before looking back at the two of them. "I know I'm the one who asked you for help, but I do feel like I have to warn you, Miss Russell. This could be dangerous."

"It probably will be." Matt moved just slightly in front of her. "But she won't be there alone. I intend to be there as well."

"I figured you would." Worley grinned as he turned again for the door. "Or at least I was planning on it."

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

**House of Ward Chapter 17**

**AN: Just wanted to give my little sister a thank you for her help on this chapter. I was steering off course and she put back on track. Thank you little one, I appreciate you.**

The meeting was set for the next evening at the House of Ward. As far as Willing knew, Kitty would meet him there at 7, alone and willing to make a deal. What Willing didn't know was that Matt and the Sherriff would be there as well, hidden in a small room next to the parlor. They would stay there until such time as they needed to show themselves to arrest the odious man.

Well after the appointed time, just when Kitty was beginning to think that Willing wasn't showing, a knock came at the door. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, Kitty walked to the door and opened it.

Standing on the doorstep was an average height man with well-groomed red hair and a handlebar mustache. His build was medium and his clothes were tasteful but not audacious. Very little about his looks told of his character. But his green eyes spoke of a man used to getting his way and not unwilling to commit violence to get it.

"Miss Russell?" He swept his stovepipe hat off of his head and gave her a slight bow.

"Mr. Willing." Kitty stepped back to allow him entrance and then closed the door behind him. "Please follow me." Without waiting for an answer she turned and led the way into the front parlor. "There wasn't much here, when I arrived." She told him as she moved to the center table where a bottle of bourbon and two glasses were arrayed. "But I managed to find something. Would you like a drink?"

"Thank you." Willing nodded. "That's very kind."

"Not at all." Kitty gave him a slight smile as she poured him a drink and handed it to him. "Besides, if things work out, you'll do more than that for me."

Willing took a sip of his drink, studying her over his glass. "Oh? And just exactly what is it that you think I can do for you?"

"Let's not play games, Mr. Willing." Kitty answered as she took a sip of her own drink and then paced across the room to the fireplace, before pausing to turn and look at him. "I know you are the one that's been running Ward Freighting for some years now. I also know exactly what kind of 'freight' you handle and how valuable it is. I have no desire to interfere with you. I simply want my cut of it."

"You're cut?" He raised a brow as he cocked his head in question. "I'm not certain I know what you mean. It's my understanding that you are now the owner of this place and the business."

"I am on paper." Kitty shrugged. "But paper is worth only so much, depending what's written on it." Kitty smirked and took another sip of her drink. "I have several papers with a lot of things written on them."

"Oh?" Willing was both intrigued and wary of the beautiful red head. He wasn't sure what her game was but he was interested enough to find out.

"My name is indeed on the ownership papers." Kitty continued. "But that's the only place you'll find them. And with the dates on those papers, it's obvious that I've not been involved in Ward Freighting's dealings at all. However," she stopped with an almost wicked grin. "I happen to have some other papers and books that do not contain my name but they do contain yours. They also spell out just exactly what kind of freight you've been sending out and where you've been sending it."

The half smile that Willing had been sporting, since he'd entered the house, suddenly dropped and his green eyes blazed in fury. "What are you talking about?"

Kitty took a slight step backwards. She'd purposely maneuvered herself next to the door that Matt and Sherriff Worley were hidden behind and she wanted to make sure she was close to them if the need arose. "You heard me." She kept her voice low and even and in control. She was not going to show any fear to this man for any reason. "I have some papers and ledgers, Mr. Willing, that should they fall into the wrong hands, could prove to be very bad for you."

"I don't believe you." Willing declared as he took a menacing step towards her. "You couldn't possibly have anything like that." As he took another step, the room suddenly grew remarkably colder, as though winter had just set up shop inside the room. Willing noticed the change in temperature, but it didn't deter him. If this woman had what she said she did, he was in danger of going to jail or worse. He didn't like that one bit. "I don't know what game you're playing, lady, but…"

An eerie howl and a sudden gust of foul smelling wind suddenly filled the room, stopping him mid-sentence and mid-stride. "What…" He quickly looked about the room but saw nothing to account for either the wind or smell or sound. Swallowing hard, he refocused his attention on Kitty. "If you have anything on me, prove it." He snarled. "Show me what you have."

Kitty hadn't been oblivious to what had just happened in the room but she'd ignored it. Her mind was centered directly on Willing and how to get him to make some sort of confession good enough to get him arrested. "I'll show you nothing, Mr. Willing." Kitty's voice continued to be calm and in control. "At least not until I get what I want."

"And what is it that you want?" Willing took another step towards her causing her to take an involuntary step backwards and away from the door, which concealed Matt and Worley.

"I want a cut of your profits." Kitty answered bluntly. "If the paperwork I have is in anyway close to being accurate, I believe you're pulling in a pretty good amount each month and I want my part of it. I'm not greedy though. I am willing to share the wealth, just not all of it and not as much as you're used to getting."

Willing started to move closer to her, but then stopped. Straightening his shoulders and with a deep breath he sat his glass down on the table and reached down, picking up his hat. "I'm sorry, Miss Russell." He told her as he put his hat on. "But I don't believe you. I don't think you have anything. I think you're fishing only I'm not biting." Saying nothing more, he turned and started for the door.

"Well then, perhaps Mr. Woo will be interested in the paperwork I have." Kitty said coolly as he turned his back on her. "I'm sure he wouldn't like his name exposed and he might be willing to pay a tidy sum to keep it from happening."

Willing's eyes widened as he turned back. "Where'd you hear that name?"

"Where do you think?" Kitty stood her ground. She had to get to him to talk.

"Woo would never be so stupid as to allow his name to be written down on anything incriminating." Willing declared challengingly.

"I doubt he knew about it." Kitty shrugged. "But Jacob knew and thanks to information he left to me, I know."

"You couldn't know." Willing's voice grew slightly hoarse and elevated. "I've been extraordinarily careful in my business with Woo and anyone else I deal with. And Jacob hasn't even been here for the last few years."

Kitty knew she was getting to him but it wasn't enough. "Jacob knew a lot of things. He wrote them down and left them here at the house. But what I don't know, is why you killed him?" Kitty kept her eyes locked on his. "What was it? Huh? He want to take the business back over and cut you out? I bet you he could probably have done a better job of it."

"Oh, please." Willing sneered. "That boy was worthless when it came to this business. He didn't have what it took. Why do you think his father let me run things?"

"I assumed it was because Jacob left town." Kitty's voice was nonchalant but she was getting excited at the prospect of getting what she needed.

"He left town because he thought he'd murdered his brother." Willing chuckled.

"But you murdered him instead. Is that it?" Kitty was going mostly on hunches but so far they'd proven to be right.

"Jeremy supposed to be the one in charge here." Willing answered. "Ben knew that Jeremy had the ruthlessness needed for this job. But so did I. I had to get rid of him. But it wasn't enough. Ben would've then given the job to Jacob and I couldn't murder them both, it would've been too obvious. So I pinned Jeremy's murder on him. He was a weak-spined little boy who always ran away from anything in the slightest unpleasant so it wasn't hard to get him to leave town."

"But you didn't flinch at unpleasant things, did you?" Kitty asked. "I mean like white slave trading or moving illegal goods? Or maybe trying to having me killed when I first got to Boston. Guess you were disappointed that didn't work out."

"The kid in Boston was sloppy. If he'd done his job right, you'd be dead and I'd be free to keep running things without having to deal with you." Willing shrugged. "By the way, how'd you figure that out?"

"I'm not stupid." Kitty smirked. "That kid was too slow for a thief."

"No you're not stupid. You seem to know quite a bit." Willing wasn't sure whether to be impressed or angry.

"I do but not every thing. Such as why'd you kill Jacob? If he was so weak why the need to kill him? And how'd you expect to run things with the both of them dead?"

"I'm very skilled at Jacob's signature." Willing sneered. "I could've gone on forever as it was. But he came back and was going to shut things down." Willing answered. "I've worked too hard to let that happen."

"His signature wouldn't have worked with him dead." Kitty prodded. "So what'd you plan on doing after you killed him? You wouldn't get by with forging my signature like you did his."

"I'm not stupid either." He grinned. "I've worked hard these last years. With the arrangements I've made, Ward Freighting is mine in all but the name. With Jacob and you dead, it wouldn't take much to change that too."

Kitty smiled. She had him. He'd admitted to being the one in charge of Ward Freighting as well as murder. Quickly, she moved toward the door that hid Matt and the Sherriff. But she didn't make it that far.

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

**House of Ward Chapter 18**

"Where do you think you're going?" Willing quickly stepped in her way.

"It's getting warm in here." Kitty took a quick, deep breath. "Thought I'd open that door and let some air in here."

"It's actually getting colder. Besides, that's an interior door." Willing started advancing on her. "There's no window."

Just then, the door that Kitty had been heading for began to rattle. "What's that?" Willing turned to glare at the door as the knob began to turn back and forth. Glancing back at Kitty, he resolutely walked over to the door. "You got someone in here? Spying on us?" Grabbing the knob, he turned it and flung the door open. But the room was empty of all but dust.

Kitty was even more surprised than Willing. She had no idea where Matt and the Sherriff were or why they'd left. But she revealed nothing to Willing. "I told you I was alone." Her eyes darted around the room, looking for some sort of escape or at the very least a weapon. "I want a make a deal with you, Mr. Willing."

Though the room was obviously empty, Willing was still suspicious. "So you said." He turned back towards Kitty. "But I don't want to deal with you. I can control Ward Freighting whether you're alive or dead. And I prefer the latter."

Quickly, he reached out, intent on getting a hold of the red head but as he did, he suddenly felt someone push him from behind, knocking him forward. He barely caught a hold of the fireplace mantle, preventing a nasty fall. "What the…!?" He turned to see who'd pushed him, but no one was there.

Sensing a chance to get away from him, Kitty turned and ran towards the door to the hallway, but Willing was too quick for her. He managed to grab the back of her dress, as she came close, pulling her towards him. "Not so quick." He snarled.

Just then, Matt appeared in the doorway from the front hall. "LET HER GO!" He roared. "NOW!"

"NO!" Willing shook his head as he pulled Kitty even closer, wrapping an arm around her waist and another around her neck. "The lady is going with me."

"No, she's not." Worley shook his head as he came in behind Matt. "The gig is up, Willing. Let her go and you'll walk out of here alive."

"Oh, I'll walk out of here, alright." He grinned humorlessly. "And she'll be right by my side. Either of you two tries to stop me and I'll break her neck."

Enraged, Matt started to take a step forward, but Worley pulled him back. "He'll hurt her, Dillon." He warned in a low voice.

"You're damned right, I will." Willing began to edge Kitty sides way and towards the door. "Now get out of my way."

Just then another gust of wind blew through the room with a low moan followed by a whistle. None of the room's occupants moved as they looked around trying to find the source of the noise. Before they could refocus, the lamps in the room began to dim before once again blazing brightly.

"What was that?" Willing demanded. "Who else is here?"

"There's no one here but us." Matt answered trying to find a way to get Kitty away from him.

"No one alive, that is." Worley glanced over at Matt hoping he'd know enough to play along. "But I've heard this place is filled with the spirits of everyone who's died here. Spirits looking to take revenge on the ones that hurt them."

"Yeah." Kitty nodded. "Spirits like Jeremy and Jacob." She could feel Willing trembling.

Matt began to move ever so slowly across the room in one direction as Worley began to move in the opposite direction. "That's right, Willing." Matt grinned. "You didn't think we did all that, did you?" Matt took another step to the left. "Uh, huh. That's the ghosts of the people you killed, Willing, coming after you."

Although Willing hadn't moved or loosened his grip on Kitty, Matt could tell by the drops of sweat beginning to bead on his forehead, as well as his expression that he was getting to him. "I,,, I didn't kill those boys." He tightened his grip on Kitty. "Jacob… Jacob killed his brother and Jacob died naturally."

Kitty opened her mouth to argue that but suddenly snapped it shut.

"LIAR!" A deep, guttural voice screamed, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere. "LIAR!"

"No…" Willing's voice withered as he looked wildly around the room and his grip on Kitty finally lessened. "No, I… I didn't."

Matt and Worley exchanged confused glances. Neither of them had spoken a word, and Kitty certainly hadn't spoken. But they had very clearly heard that voice.

Kitty felt Willing loosening his grip and decided it was time to get away if she could. Pulling up her right leg, she kicked back as hard as she could, her heel connecting sharply with his shin.

"Owww!" Willing didn't release her, but his attention was suddenly on his injured leg and not on Matt or Worley.

That was all Matt needed. Throwing himself across the room, he pulled Kitty from the villain's arm and pulled back his arm, to punch him. But he never landed a blow. Willing raised his fist to fight back but was suddenly thrown backwards, landing against a small table and knocking one of the oil lamps to the ground. The flames from the lamp, immediately ignited Willing's jacket and the decaying rug he'd landed on.

"Sherriff, get Kitty out of here!" Matt yelled as he ran towards Willing.

Instantly, Worley grabbed a struggling Kitty and began to pull her towards the door.

"Let me go!" Kitty demanded. "Matt! Matt, come on!"

But Matt ignored her pleas as he moved over to Willing, pulling him from the growing blaze. Willing yelled out when Matt gripped him and pushed him away. "Stop fighting." Matt yelled trying to keep a hold of the wriggling man.

But with a strength borne of pain and anger and bewilderment, Willing managed to get free from Matt and ran further into the house, his burning clothes spreading the fire as he went.

"Matt!" Worley had managed to get Kitty to the door but she'd gotten away from him and gone back for him, Worley on her heels.

Matt knew going after Willing was a lost cause so he instead turned, picked up Kitty and ran from the house as the blaze began to intensify. When they reached the doorway, a sound, something akin to a shrill cry crossed with a low-throated growl came out of nowhere and seemed to push at them as Matt ran from the house, Kitty still in arms. That sound was followed by what could only be described as a child's laughter and what sounded like a man's voice saying, 'Thank you.'

"What…." Worley stopped to catch his breath. "What was that?"

"I don't know." Matt sat Kitty down and turned to see the house slowly begin to collapse.

"I do." Kitty stared up at the burning building at it began to fall. "We released the spirits there. They're free now. They can go home."

Matt could see by Kitty's expression that she believed what she'd said, as he turned again to look at what was left the House of Ward, he was darned if he didn't agree with her.

TBC


	19. Chapter 19

**House of Ward Epilogue**

Kitty stood just inside the cemetery gates and looked down at Jacob Ward's grave and then over to the rest of the family graves beside him. She felt a sense of peace now and she believed completely that Jacob, as well as the rest of the Wards were as well.

After she, Matt and Worley escaped from the blazing House of Ward, Kitty knew she'd seen Jacob in the upstairs window, looking down on her with a contented smile. She hadn't mentioned that to Matt and most likely never would but she knew it was Jacob just the same. He was happy. She'd done what he had been unable to do and stopped Tom Willing.

After leaving the smoking ruins of the old Ward manor, Kitty Matt and Worley had gone back to the hotel with the knowledge that they'd managed to stop Tom Willing and his ruinous deeds. But it wasn't enough. Though the head of the snake was dead, he still had others who'd worked for him and with him who also needed to be stopped.

Over the next few days Worley worked hard to accomplish what he hadn't been able to do before. Through a network of informants throughout the area, Worley had been able to round up most of Ward Freighting's employees and once they learned of Willing's death, they were willing to talk. He was still taking confessions when Matt and Kitty decided to go back down to the decrepit little office to look around.

With the use of a crowbar, they managed to force their way in. Once inside they found a bare desk and a chair and a filing cabinet. The filing cabinet held little more than dust, but the desk held gold. Or least the kind of gold they'd needed. Inside the top drawer, they found a letter. It was inscribed to Kitty and it was written by Jacob.

"_Miss Kitty," _the letter began_, "if you're reading this, than I have failed and I'm leaving it up to you and your stalwart Marshal Dillon to finish things for me if you can. If you do come, I've no doubt he will be with you. During my short time in Dodge City, I saw just how formidable you are, Miss Kitty. And of course, Marshal Dillon's reputation is legendary. I believe you're perhaps the only ones who can help me. Sherriff Worley seems like an honest and stalwart man, but I don't know who I can trust here. So I'm turning to you._

_I don't know if Bowles will tell you anything. Most likely, he won't. He's not a bad lawyer, but he's a coward. That's why I'm leaving this letter here for you instead of giving it to him. My guess is this will be the first place you come and hopefully this letter will explain everything to you._

_Years ago, when Jeremy and I were children, our father hired a man named Tom Willing to help him run the family business. Father was a decent man, but he wasn't good at business. Willing was just supposed to run things until Jeremy and I grew up and could take it over. But as time went on, Willing grew stronger and Father grew weaker. When Jeremy and I were old enough, my father made it clear, we were to take over things and steer Ward Freighting back to the decent, honest company that my grandfather had built._

_Willing however, had other ideas. It was he that had that scandalous book of lies written about my family. And I am almost positive he killed my brother, pinning the blame on me. My father was able to make my brother's death appear to be an accident but he was afraid for me and sent me away. _

_It's my great sorrow that Father died while I was gone. I knew nothing about it and was not able to be here to see him one more time. I found out about his death just before I came home. That's why I came. But when I got here, I found out very quickly how things had changed in my absence. The house is in virtual ruins. This wonderfully busy little office is now nothing more than a shack and Ward Freighting has turned into some monstrous machine whose sole purpose is to destroy lives. _

_I have to stop this, not only for my honor but for my family as well. I am sincerely hoping I can do this and that one day, I can contact you and boast of the wonderful things I have done. But should I fail, and I fear I will, then I am praying that you will not._

_Tom Willing is a monster. He must be stopped and that of his whole organization. Kill him if you must but stop him. There are books in my father's old office, written in Chinese. They are shipping logs and actual lists of clients that have either bought or sold items through this company. They have odd titles, but I am confident you can locate them. _

_Also, there is a man named Mr. Woo, in San Francisco, that you should contact. He can interpret the books and probably provide even more detailed and up to date information on what Willing is doing. Send a wire in care of Charlie Wen at the Palace Hotel. He will contact Mr. Woo. You can trust these men. They are honorable and will help. _

_As I stated before, I hope you don't have to get involved with this whole sorted mess. But if you do, then please stop it completely. Despite the rumors you may hear about my family, we were good people. My father never sat out to do evil things and no matter the gossip, he did not murder the wives who could not bear him children. But somewhere he lost his way and opened the door to let evil in. If I can't stop this travesty, then I am begging you to do it for me. For if you should fail, then nothing will stop it. Please help, Miss Kitty. For if you're reading this, you're the only one who can."_

Jacob had been right about Woo. He'd responded by wire quickly and was very willing to help. Worley was confident that the evil network that Willing had set up and ran would soon be closed down for good.

Kitty had donated the land, which the house had sat on, to the town with the provision that it be turned into a park named after Jacob Ward. The town was already making plans for clearing it and deciding its layout.

Kitty was going to hold onto the little office and the small plot of land it sat on but Worley offered to buy it from her instead. He had, he told her, decided it was time that he hung up his badge and start a business of some kind. He wasn't sure what kind of business, but he knew he'd figure it out as it beat getting shot at for a living.

Kitty smiled as she remembered how uncomfortable Matt got listening to the Sherriff's plans for the future, probably because, he, himself could never imagine such a thing.

"Kitty?" She turned to see Matt coming across the cemetery towards her. "I sent our bags over to the train station. Figured it would save some time and give us a few minutes to stop in and see the Sherriff before we leave."

Kitty nodded as Matt came up besides her, wrapping an arm around her waste. "I was just saying goodbye to Jacob and his family. I know Jacob's the only one I met but I somehow feel like I knew the others too, in a small way."

"I do too." Matt agreed. "To tell you the truth, I'm almost certain I saw a couple of them in that old house before and after it burned."

Kitty looked up at him, eyes wide. "You… You're admitting you saw a ghost?"

Matt considered the question for a moment before shrugging. "I guess you could say that. All I know is there were things that I saw in that house that… well, I guess ghosts as good an explanation as any."

"Doesn't matter what you call them." Kitty sighed. "Not now anyway. They're free now, Matt. Not just Jacob, but all of them. I think that old house and all the tragedy it contained somehow worked to keep them here. When it burned down, they were finally able to leave."

"I guess so." He agreed as he looked down at Jacob's grave and then a deep breath. "Well, you ready to go home?"

Kitty nodded. "I'm ready. Let's go home, Cowboy. I have a strong desire to see a barroom full of cowpokes after all these ghosts."

Matt chuckled as he took her hand and they walked away. If either of them felt the slight breeze or heard the soft laughter coming from nowhere, they gave no sign of it.

The End.

AN: Once again, thank you all for sticking with me on this. I appreciate the reviews and the kind thoughts. As always, my stories are already finished before I even begin to post, so I wasn't able to use your wonderful plot suggestions on this story. However, there's always a chance they might find their way into another one.


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